Dragons are of ten printed on calendars and lucky money envelopes Stone dragons are used to decorate buildings par ticularly in pairs at entrances And brides will of ten wear a cheongsam a Chinese-style silk dress embroidered with twisting dragons My family including my grandparents in 1978 Jen Sookfong Lee For my sisters and me who were born in Canada Chinatown felt like home We knew every restaurant bakery and grocery store On the days we didn’t have school our grandfather would take us to his favorite diner and buy us apple tarts while he had a cup of coffee and a doughnut Our mother haggled with the shop owners she saw twice a week looking for the leanest piece of roasted pork belly or the best price on pomelos a giant citrus fruit the size of a volleyball When we were sick we drank the soup the traditional Chinese doctor prepared from dried roots berries and herbs If we drank the sometimes very bitter soup without complaining the doctor would reward us with a roll of Haw Flakes a type of Chinese candy that was round flat and slightly chewy At the end of every winter in late January or early February our father took us to watch the Chinese New Year jen sookfong lee
My family when I was a little girl in 1983 Jen Sookfong Lee parade which snaked through Chinatown on New Year’s Day My mother usually stayed home to prepare the New Year’s Day meal an eight-course dinner that took her days to plan In the damp cold we watched the dancers drum mers and martial arts performers march and spin while firecrackers filled the air with noise and smoke Our cousins Tony and Sonny were often part of the team of teenage boys who formed the body of the dancing dragon which was made of silk and held up with long wooden poles Local poli ticians and other dignitaries marching in the parade passed out candy to all the children and we called out Gung hay fat choy the traditional New Year greeting that wishes prosperity or wealth for the year ahead Our faces pink with cold we piled back into the car and drove home ready to start eating the sweet and savory 9
Chinese New Year parades like this one are popular with people from all different cultures Robert Amos dumplings my mother had started frying that morning There would be crispy shrimp chips sticky date cake and steamed cupcakes that looked like tulips And after that the big event a celebratory dinner at which our parents and uncles and aunts would trade happy stories and good wishes long into the night We ate prawns noodles soup steamed fish mushrooms and piles of greens all cooked by my mother For dessert we ate fresh fruit and more candy than we were ever allowed to eat the rest of the year Chinese people live in many cities throughout the world and Chinese New Year celebrations are a little bit different everywhere you go But my family like most other Chinese families in every part of the world always rings in the New Year with our loved ones good food and lots and lots of laughter Today now that I’m a mother I love following the same traditions with my son going to the Chinese New Year parade teaching him about the different customs and foods and using that time to talk 10
introduction with our extended family especially my mother She still cooks us a huge dinner and greets every single one of her grandchildren with a kiss and a piece of candy Chinese New Year is always fun but it’s important for me to teach my son that the celebrations are a snapshot of Chinese culture Every food item means something The Chinese zodiac and its twelve animal signs mean something The red envelopes of lucky money called lai see in Chinese we give and receive is more than just money This is also why I’m writing this book Chinese New Year is a popular and well-known holiday but like Christmas or Halloween it grew out of history and stories To understand Chinese New Year is to understand what makes Chinese culture unique And I want all of you to celebrate your next Chinese New Year with a deeper understanding of what the dragons and firecrackers really truly mean So keep reading What Kids Say About Chinese New Year I asked the children in my life all of whom are members of Chinese Canadian families to tell me their favorite parts of the celebrations Here’s what they said Money And seeing all our grandmas and grandpas And sitting in our uncle’s massage chair Samuel age 9 and Donna age 6 The party And eating with the family Maya age 7 Being with all the family and playing and stuff Sebastien age 9 The parade Because of the dragon thing I like the big mouth Oscar age 6 In the 1950s 60s and 70s when immigration to Canada and the United States was very high Chinatowns across North America were especially busy with families shopping for groceries tourists looking for souvenirs like porcelain Buddhas and lacquered chopsticks and young people hoping to hear live music 11
