Spokesperson for Your Culture:

I've been thinking a lot about Chinese New Year since I've been asked to speak about it to my son's nursery class. I remember my own teachers asking me to speak to my classmates and I can't help a wry smile.

The Lunar New Year is the most visual image of Chinese culture to Westerners and, being raised in the West, British-born or raised Chinese (BBC) bear the burden of being the so-called "experts" to teachers, classmates and friends, or so it seemed to me growing up.

As I think about what to say to my son's class, I question what I really know about Chinese New Year and what I feel about the traditions. It matters more to me now as my son, Marcus (4.5), and daughter, Lauren (3), are at an age when they're beginning to understand and question the world in which they live.

My Memories of Chinese Lunar New Year:

Growing up in the UK, the Lunar New Year wasn't an official holiday (certainly no 15-day traditional celebrations or the modern 4-day public holiday in some Asian countries); just a few colourful images of the dragon or lion dance on TV or, if we were lucky, a visit to Chinatown on a cold day to see the dragon dance, eat dim sum, buy Chinese groceries and receive "Lei Sei" or "Hung Bao" (red packets) from relatives and family friends we saw that day.

As a child, the best part about New Year was getting lots of Lei Sei (as I suspect for many BBCs!) Of course, I remember other things as well, like three weeks before New Year my parents would start to spring clean the house and nearer to New Year the kitchen altar. The house looked bright with red decorations, vibrant flowers, sometimes kumquat trees and scented with the smells of burning incense and citrus fruits in big bowls.

We prayed to the Kitchen God on New Year's Eve and to our ancestors on New Year's Day. We wore new clothes to visit and pay our respects to our grandparents and uncles and aunts. Whether visiting relatives or family friends, we'd always be invited to eat some food; maybe a slice of "Nian Go" (New Year pudding) or have some "Tong Yuen" in "Tong Sui" (Sweet Glutinous Rice Flour Balls in Sugar Water) - I never did get used to the texture of Nian Go or Tong Yuen, but was always told to eat it so I'd grow taller and add one more year to my life (well, I'm not sure Nian Go worked as I'm still only 5-foot, but obviously the Tong Yuen did as I'm at the start of my 4th decade!)

A Barometer of Views on Chinese New Year:

I think BBCs are divided on how they feel about Chinese New Year. It doesn't seem to matter to some BBCs and just a family meal to others. To test my theory, I asked my siblings, cousins and BBC friends, and just as I suspected their comments ranged from positive to indifferent or negative.

One of my brothers thinks Chinese New Year superstitions are "stuff and nonsense" (actually, he said ruder words I can't repeat here!)

A cousin said, "It's not something I get too over excited about, which perhaps sounds a bit awful, but guess that's part of growing up in Britain. As Mum makes a big deal of it then it becomes important. Mum did all the preparation and warned us well in advance that we should be home for dinner for the occasion."

A friend shared her good memories of New Year: "I love Chinese New Year! Growing up we always observed the tradition of eating together on New Year's Eve and eating leftover dishes from the previous night and using up what's in the fridge. On New Year's Day, as part of the cleansing act, we only have hot water and vegetarian food (vegan if possible) and then on the 2nd day of New Year the feast begins...My grandmother used to try and get the red goodwill phrases to put up by the doorway and my mum would get kumquat trees and peach blossom if she came across them."

Even as some of us have a cynical or dismissive attitude towards all things traditional, I believe deep down we can't ignore where we've come from - much as some BBCs choose to have a Chinese wedding banquet when they marry non-Chinese out of respect for their parents and to honour something deep inside them. I would argue, no matter how much we rebel or how far we've moved from home, our connection to our culture is inherent within us.

It Matters to Over 20 % of the World:

The Lunar/Chinese New Year or Spring Festival is the most important celebration for Chinese and other Asian people (over 20 % of the world's population). It's also part of the story of immigration; a bond linking overseas Chinese and their descendants to their heritage, even though they live thousands of miles away from their ancestral homelands.

Saying "Gung Hei Fat Choi" at New Year is our connection to millions of others like us who speak Cantonese (or other dialects, such as Hakka) in S.E. China, Hong Kong and around the world where people have settled, such as New York City, Toronto, London, Birmingham, Manchester and many smaller towns and villages in the UK.

Chinese Lunar New Year is the Main Event Not the Postscript:

It's a shame that Christmas and New Year (Gregorian calendar) have replaced the Lunar New Year in importance with many BBCs. The Lunar New Year becomes an afterthought or a postscript to the main event when it should be a significant event in of itself. Perhaps, because it's not a public holiday in the West or, maybe, we've accepted it as something our parents do that is separate to our lives. I don't think we should take the celebrations for granted because, as each generation progresses, we're in danger of losing the verbal histories that exist within families. Do we really know why we do certain things at New Year?

Instead of being indifferent to Chinese New Year, we should sit up and pay attention. As BBCs, we could argue our grandparents or parents never taught us about New Year, but did we ask the questions of our elders and even more so now as we're adults. There's no excuse for being in ignorance today when we have easy access to other resources, such as the Internet, to educate us.

If you go home this New Year, why don't you ask your relatives about what New Year means to them (don't take their surface answers, but dig deeper) or watch them cook the traditional foods. My friend, Pauline, recalls her mum making New Year cookies: "My mum makes these deep fried cookies (I used to help) that are shaped like really small Cornish pasties and stuffed with a mixture of desiccated coconut, peanuts and sugar. We call them �Gnou Kok Jai' (Little Ox Horns)".

New Year Stories and Rituals:

My children have an interesting road to navigate being American-born of BBC parents with a Chinese (Guangdong Hakka) and Hong Kong (New Territories Hakka) ancestry. If it was hard for me being a BBC, imagine the cultural questions my children may have. I don't want them to grow up in a cultural void so I'll start with the New Year stories; I'll tell them the legend of "Nian" - a ferocious beast that attacked people thousands of years ago. Nian was afraid of noise, fire and the colour red so people hung red peach wood on their doors, made campfires with bamboo to make cracking sounds and beat metal utensils to scare Nian away. These are the origins of the New Year traditions of decorating with red paper with lucky phrases written on them and lighting firecrackers to scare off evil spirits.

In Cantonese, New Year's Eve is called "Guo Nian" - "Guo" means passing and "Nian" in modern Chinese means year so, in essence, the New Year is about surviving Nian (the beast) and starting anew. From honouring our past through veneration of ancestors to "fasting" (eating root and fibrous vegetables and gluten, "Jai") on New Year's Day; from sweeping the old dirt away to wearing new clothes, we're symbolically going back to beginnings and reenergising ourselves for the year ahead. Before you dismiss such rituals as hocus-pocus, ask yourself how is this any different to saying goodbye to the old and welcoming in the new and making resolutions at New Year in the Gregorian calendar?

Indeed, you may be surprised though I'm born and raised in the West (and many of my peers are spiritually sceptical), I feel positive about ancestor worship. Saying prayers in a ritualized way to my deceased grandparents and my husband's grandparents (despite our differences), and my brother, David, (who died too young at 22), strengthens me as they're my link to my history and I'll ask them to guide me in the coming year.

You may also be surprised (as I'm a product of a more cynical generation) I don't dismiss centuries old superstitions outright, much as some people in Western societies wouldn't purposely walk under a ladder. Hence, part of New Year's Eve will be spent preparing food for the next day as it's commonly believed using a kitchen knife on New Year's Day will cut off one's luck. Nor will I sweep the house on New Year's Day as that would mean sweeping away my good fortune.

Teaching my children the stories and traditions is part of my learning too. Being a mother and far from family networks, and certainly being more patient now I'm older means I want to know more about my roots: you don't know what you miss until you're standing where I'm standing. Teaching my children to say "Gung Hei Fat Choi" is as if my parents are passing on the parenting baton to me and the very act of teaching them to say this greeting is something, which symbolically ties three generations born on three different continents together.

My Life and Chinese New Year:

We live in a small city away from a Chinatown and there are ways I'm adapting Chinese cultural norms to the realities of our life here, like adapting recipes to the ingredients I can buy. Being away from family, we're creating our own traditions and adapting them to a new culture, such as incorporating Thanksgiving into our rituals in the same way we did with Christmas when we were growing up in England. Chinese New Year is a visible catalyst to start teaching Marcus and Lauren about their roots. At their age, they're like sponges wanting to learn by doing, so as I clean the house ready for New Year, they'll have dusters in hand ready to help me. As I tell them New Year stories, they'll use their natural imaginations in role play.

Last year, I made Nian Go from scratch; no mean feat if you imagine me on the phone with my parents as I mixed! Even if my children don't like the texture or taste, they will have tried it and know why they eat it. This year, I'm going to master the classic dish of "Baak Chit Gai" (White Cut Chicken) served with salted and mashed ginger, spring onions and oil dipping sauce ("Goeng Chung") and present it at a New Year's party for close friends. Check out my article in the Food section as I talk about setting up a Chinese kitchen and give you the recipe for my family's White Cut Chicken dish and other recipes.

The Lunar New Year matters more to me today than it's ever done and I'll willingly explain the traditions to friends, my son's classmates and people in the community by speaking and writing articles in the local newspaper.

Excitement and Pride for New Year:

In China, people travel far and wide for several days, and as I've been reading recently in terrible weather, to see their families at the New Year. Realistically, we can't make this journey every year because families may live in different countries. But, even as we can't celebrate with family, I feel we should be excited and proud about Chinese New Year and make greater efforts to acknowledge this visible and symbolic connection to our heritage.

Do you have similar feelings about Chinese New Year or do you think I have it entirely wrong? Please share your thoughts below or email me directly at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

GUNG HEI FAT CHOI!

Susan S. Cheung

 

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Deb Posted 14:11 on 31 January 2008 Hi Susan! I'm was born a Malaysian Chinese but my family migrated to New Zealand in my teens. I stumbled upon this site because I've got a job offer in the UK and wanted to know more about what the UK is like, especially for a Chinese. Reading your article, I can't help but share my experiences and feelings on Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year celebrations was a big thing in my family when we were in Malaysia. I think the happiest times in my childhood was always during the Chinese New Year celebrations. Cousins would come to our house and we would play all day long. There were firecrakers and sparklers at night, the lion dances in the day, the adults weren't allowed to scold us, and the feasts were just a neverending stream of delicious food. The celebrations in our family usually started on Chinese New Years' Eve with the reunion dinner, and ends with another dinner on the second day of the New Year. Our whole extended family would spend the whole three days at our house and everyone would have breakfast,lunch and dinner together. Every meal was always a feast. It was all highly enjoyable for a child as you can imagine, Lei See notwithstanding. When we moved to New Zealand, it was not always possible for my parents to take us back to Malaysia for the celebrations. Moreover, my parents would invariably have to work on on the New Year and my sister and I would have to go to school. The celebrations dwindled to a slightly better dinner on the New Years' Eve and a set of new clothes to wear when you come back from school, plus a few obligatory phone calls wishing aunts and uncles Gung Hei Fat Choi. It was all so boring and meaningless to me that I began to forget how much I enjoyed Chinese New Year. Recently, I began to miss the celebrations in my childhood with a deep pang in my heart. I start to remember the mixed scent of kumquats and wood (kumquats came in wooden crates in those days), the smell of gunpowder in the morning from the firecrakers the night before, and the endless sounds and smells coming from the kitchen as feast after feast were tirelessly prepared. These reminiscences made me appreciate my heritage even more and I vow that when I have children, wherever I am I would make sure that Chinese New Year would be a very important part of their lives as it had been for me. Hope you enjoyed reading this very long reply. Gung Hei Fat Choi! Reply | Quote

Susan S. Cheung Posted 18:55 on 31 January 2008 Dear Deb, Thank you for taking the time to share your good and bad memories of Chinese New Year as you were growing up. It was really interesting to hear your descriptions so don't apologize for the length of your reply. Infact, it's great that people can read such details, as often we're accused of being the "silent minority" with many aspects of our culture closed off to wider society, as well as within our own culture. In you sharing your memories, it's great to think how so many people are connected in the world by this most important celebration. You're not alone in thinking Chinese New Year can be boring if you come to live in a country where the Lunar New Year is not celebrated by everyone and it then becomes as much fun as your family and loved ones can spend time celebrating, depending on their circumstances. I think as a parent my aim is to create a sense of excitement for my children and to my friends around me, who are unfamiliar with the traditions. The more people who know about the importance of the celebrations the better. The point I'm getting at in my piece is that second and third generations should reclaim back excitement and pride in this vital link to our heritage. We can learn about the rituals and traditions and adapt them into our lives as appropriate, but the main thing is to be happy and visible about Chinese New Year. Good luck with the job, it wasn't clear in your post whether you took the job in the UK and you are over there now. Gung Hei Fat Choi! Susan Reply | Quote

Lauren - lei sei? Posted 6:03 on 1 February 2008 Hi Shifay....great article! What is Lei Sei!? all best, Lauren Reply | Quote

Susan S. Cheung - Lei Sei Posted 14:32 on 1 February 2008 Hi Lauren, Thanks for your question. Lei Sei or Hung Bao are small red envelopes or packets with a gift of "lucky" money (crips new bills) inside and decorated with lucky words and images on the outside of the packet, which children, elders and traditionally unmarried immediate family members (no matter what their age) get from parents and other adults at celebrations, especially at Chinese New Year, on birthdays and if you are the bride and groom at your wedding banquet. At Chinese New Year, children get lei sei from parents and relatives - lucky to receive and lucky to give - you can imagine how exciting that was to receive many lei sei over the holiday period. Some families follow the custom where children put lei sei under their pillows on New Year's Eve and that means they can sleep without bad dreams and become richer next year. Some employers in China still follow the tradition of giving their employees their year end bonuses in lei sei (that's why banks print new notes at this time of year) so families often feel wealthier at the New Year. Reply | Quote

Rosaline Ting - Praise-worthy Posted 12:22 on 3 February 2008 Hi, Speaking as a grandmother and a Singaporean migrant residing in the UK,I am heartened that the younger generations are continually with our traditions. Given the demands of living and the disadvantages of a non-public holiday (most likely), I applaud your efforts, and enjoyment! of a home celebration and observation of our cultural wealth in a diaspora community. Gung hei fat choi ! Gong xi fatt chai ! Reply | Quote

Susan S. Cheung - Praise-worthy Posted 18:45 on 3 February 2008 Dear Rosaline, Thank you for your comments. I think many of the younger generation are interested in the New Year traditions and, in writing about them in my article, I wanted to show how we can adapt them in our modern way of life. Personally, I feel the more we know and understand will only strengthen who we are and pride in our roots. I think the New Year's traditions are important enough to pass on to the next generation, but it does take effort on people's part and my worry is some can't be bothered. Reply | Quote

Sang Posted 12:54 on 3 February 2008 Absolutely beautiful picture of the family! Vietnam is gearing up for the celebration as well. Some of the sights are gorgeous here. Happy New Year! Reply | Quote

Susan S. Cheung Posted 18:47 on 3 February 2008 Dear Sang, Thank you for your kind comments. The children are growing so quickly now. It would be interesting if you could share some of the traditions and sights in Vietnam at this time of year. Reply | Quote

Che Yeung - Memories and traditions Posted 10:41 on 4 February 2008 Hi Susan, As a BBC who is now a parent to an 16 mnth old, I completely share your sentiments. We've recently taken our son back to HK for his first visit and definitely feel the urge to impart details of his chinese roots. Returning back to the UK, we already see how quickly he will be awashed in Western Culture and traditions. It has made us reflect on how we grew up and tried to rebel against all that our parents tried to teach us. Luckily some of it stayed. I would love to hear more of the techniques that you employ to teach your children. We tried to buy materials to teach our son in HK, sadly we can speak but not necessarily read chinese that well. So any resources you can share would be good. Sun Nian Fi Lok to you and your loved ones, in fact to all. Che Reply | Quote

Susan S. Cheung Posted 21:18 on 4 February 2008 Dear Che, Thank you for sharing your experiences and sharing your concerns about wanting to bring up your son with a sense of his Chinese heritage. From our experience, it's been a hard road teaching our children because we live away from our family networks, so our children lose the knowledge and language that grandparents can impart. We also have very few Cantonese or Hakka speaking people in our area and the one Chinese school here only caters for Mandarin speaking families. Like you, I'm more fluent with speaking Cantonese and Hakka than writing; my written Chinese is quite basic. With that being said, we made a conscious decision to speak to our children in Cantonese and Hakka at home and to each other rather than automatically speaking in English to each other as we tended to do. My husband (also a BBC)just speaks Hakka to Marcus and Lauren, and I speak Cantonese to them. I must admit I've had to reach for my Cantonese-English dictionary more than once and I've asked my parents for translations, but you know our efforts means my Chinese gets better every day, and the children are switching between the languages automatically. We also have calls with our families via Skype once or twice a week and our children can see their grandparents and have to speak Hakka to them. This is the same on the phone. It does takes time and effort. Our children are surrounded by English at school and on TV, so we try and combat it by them hearing as much Chinese as possible, even if that means me playing Cantopop to them or have Cantonese language tapes playing in the background or watching a DVD of Chinese nursery songs. Of course, if you have a Chinese channel that you can subscribe to on TV then all the better. I also got some resources that relatives sent to me from Hong Kong, but most of them are very advanced for my children's level. So at the beginning, I made flash cards myself with cut out pictures of the objects and got my parents to write out the Chinese characters. I think the bottom line is I want my children to understand their grandparents and be able to communicate with them on a comfortable level, and more importantly they grow up with a respect for Chinese values and family, and not just dismiss everything because they don't understand it. Hope that helps and good luck. Please let me know if you think of any other ideas. It's good that BBC parents are a resource for each other, so please feel free to drop me an email anytime at susan@dimsum.co.uk. Sun Nian Fei Lok to you and your family too! Susan Reply | Quote

Sally Posted 13:48 on 5 February 2008 Hi Susan, I'm a westerner I'm afraid and just stumbled onto this site, I thought as I was here I'd have a look around and was really interested in your article. I really enjoy finding out about other cultures and experiencing their holidays and feasts, my husband and I are going to a Chinese New Year banquet. I hope your talk goes well at your sons nursery, you may well inspire some of the children to find out more as they get older. Regards Sally Reply | Quote

Susan S. Cheung Posted 17:43 on 5 February 2008 Hi Sally, I'm glad you got to read my article and find out more about Chinese New Year. Thank you for your good wishes, I'm looking forward to speaking at my son's nursery class. The DimSum website is not exclusively for British Chinese; it's for anyone interested in Chinese culture and community from a British Chinese viewpoint. Therefore, welcome to DimSum as a new reader and if you're interested in culture check in the DimSum archives for numerous interesting articles. I try and post a feature piece once or twice a month so keep checking back in the future or sign up for the DimSum newsletter and you will get alerts about when new pieces are posted. Enjoy your Chinese New Year banquet and Happy New Year. Susan Reply | Quote

monkey - happy chinese new year! Posted 20:05 on 5 February 2008 Just like to say happy new year to susan and all readers chinese or not! Another good written piece, always from the heart! Just to add a few thoughts…I think what sustains Chinese identity is appreciating customs like the new year, but also I think the chinese language itself, as a great philosopher said “language is the house of being”. Speaking Chinese, or even better reading writing and able to communicating Chinese is one of the things that makes one Chinese…which I why myself and other fellow BBCs have a unique sense of distance. Its not always a negative thing i am hasten to add, in fact alot of good writers/artists/visionaries are "outsiders". Reply | Quote

Susan S. Cheung - happy chinese new year! Posted 22:01 on 5 February 2008 Dear monkey, Thank you for your New Year good wishes and for your comments and kind words. I think you're right to say language - being able to speak, read and write - is one of the things that makes one Chinese, and as BBCs we grow up with different experiences, no matter how good our Chinese. Even as I can converse well enough with my cousins in Hong Kong, they always regard me as "English" and therefore an "outsider" for sheer fact of geography. When I was younger I took their comments very negatively. Now I use my diverse experiences of growing up in Britain to my advantage and I'm thankful for the opportunities I've had as a result of my different upbringing. One thing I'm very proud of is my Chinese roots and Chinese people who live in mainland China or Hong Kong will never take that away from me, even though they may look down on the fact that I'm descended from overseas Chinese and laugh at my less than fluent command of the language. I can still feel Chinese through my values and respect for family and traditions. I like the unique blend I have of being British and Chinese, each side has made me who I am and that is what I impart to my children. So at New Year I celebrate my "Chineseness" and the manner in which I celebrate is a blend of my eastern and western sides. I hope you and you loved ones have a happy, healthy and prosperous Year of the Rat! Susan Reply | Quote

waiching liu - happy chinese new year Posted 20:14 on 6 February 2008 thanks Susan for the excellent article. i think that for us chinese diaspora folk, chinese new year is just as an important event in the calender, as it is for people from hong kong and china. whether we are british born, american born, australian, whatever, we have to remind ourselves that chinese new year isn't just a celebration of chinese culture itself, but it is a reminder of our upbringing, roots, background, our sense of where we come from- and yet it is our chinese-ness that we retain ourselves which is what makes us who we are individually. and so non-chinese people have to understand that the media shows one side of chinese identity- eg, hong kong, china based whilst almost virtually ignoring chinese brits, americans, australians etc. well this is very much the case in the UK, than in other parts of the world, speaking from experience. anyway, hope you have a great chinese new year and i wish you peace and goodwill Reply | Quote

Susan S. Cheung - happy chinese new year Posted 23:14 on 6 February 2008 Dear waiching liu, Thank you for your kind words and for your observations. I agree with your sentiments that for us "Chinese diaspora folk" Chinese New Year is a way to celebrate our background, roots and sense of where we come from and is not just a festival to showcase Chinese culture. The media does focus on larger populations of Chinese at New Year and may forget about us who live on their doorstep. In the UK, we only make up 0.5% of the population and often we're seen as the "silent minority". Chinese New Year is a good way to make some noise, to say to society at large, "Hey, we're here and we celebrate who we are within a multi-cultural Britain!" But that means, we as BBC or ABCs, etc. (Chinese born in other countries) have to do our part and acknowledge Chinese New Year as an important part of our lives and excite and educate those around us. Have parties with your friends and cook some dishes together, like a hot pot; talk to people with excitement about Chinese New Year and have fun with it, instead of thinking, "No one does anything". Just by me writing on Chinese New Year has generated interest and comments from non-Chinese friends who said they didn't realize how important New Year is to Chinese. I wish you and your loved ones an excellent New Year, full of joy and wellbeing. Susan Reply | Quote

monkey - ramblings... Posted 20:34 on 6 February 2008 Thanks for the comments The thing about “outsiders” one is able to step outside the frame, and make sharper observations (well my unfounded theory). An aspect of your writing, I enjoy is your realism which is not cynical (like so many pompous writers), and the homely nostalgia it often evokes. … a few more rambling comments, fortunately not all indigenous Chinese look down on BBCs like us, in fact many respect and envy our western education and values. When I converse intellectual-ish matters such as books, life, arts etc. the exchange is usually one of mutual very enjoyable interest. Reply | Quote

Susan S. Cheung - ramblings Posted 23:33 on 6 February 2008 Dear monkey, Thank you for your further comments (please, they are not rambling at all!) I think I write better now I'm older with more life experience and can take a more relaxed and philosophical view on certain aspects of my life, which I couldn't see under the impatience and urgency of youth. Maybe, that's also about being able to be an "outsider" to my life at certain times and seeing how I feel after all these years. I have more to say now on things I've observed throughout the years. My life has always been about having conversations/dialogue and that's what I hope to achieve through my writing. I'm glad you have received good/positive reactions from indigenous Chinese on your western education and values. As BBCs we have nothing to be ashamed about and can hold our own to anyone - I think we have really good things coming out of our diverse upbringing. And at the same time, we have to be respectful of the values of more traditional Chinese and not think we're superior because we have a western upbringing/British mentality, or use superiority as a guise because we feel uncomfortable about certain aspects of being Chinese. Something to think about... Reply | Quote

The Tradition Believer Posted 23:59 on 7 February 2008 Susan, Thank you for the very informative cultural information. I feel very sorry for the one of your brothers thinks Chinese New Year superstitions are "stuff and nonsense". One can either be BBC or ABC or of any cultural back ground as. He can act like Brits if so desired but should forget or abandon his tradition and heritage. Hopefully he doesn't spread any negative comments such that the youngsters surround him will be severely impacted. Keep up the good work Reply | Quote

Jeff Minter Posted 0:25 on 8 February 2008 Hey guys, haven't been posting much but I read the articles still. I don't think BBCs should be made a role model for all things chinese, like for chinese new year - it gives the wrong impression and strngthens the stereotype that racially chinese people are all things chinese. For instance, you wouldn't ask a black person the traditions in his home tribe, would you? Or an Argentinian on how he felt about the Falklands. I do think it should be celebrated though, no matter what race you are. As for family meals, meh.... fat chance of that. I've been on my own during Chinese New Year for the past 4 years... this year I'll be making my way out to Chinatown in Manchester on my own to sample some food. No matter who you are, and who you're with (or not in my case), enjoy the celebrations. Reply | Quote

Susan S. Cheung Posted 1:21 on 8 February 2008 Dear Jeff Minter, Happy New Year to you and hope you enjoy your food in Manchester Chinatown. I'm sure you'll meet other people out celebrating tonight. I'm glad you are still reading the articles on DimSum. Thank you for taking the time to comment. I agree with you that BBCs shouldn't be made to be a role model for all things Chinese like Chinese New Year. On the other hand, the Lunar New Year is one very visible way of proudly celebrating the part of us that comes from our ancestry. Why can't we do that loudly and proudly? Instead of thinking it's stereotyping or being cast as the spokesperson of the Chinese culture, I rather think it's a way to get other people, non-Chinese, excited about the celebrations so it becomes mainstream to them and to society. I have been away from my family at New Year for several years now, so I've had to celebrate with my close friends, who have become like my family. They look forward to our New Year party and it's in their calendars. I think that's a great achievement. As BBCs we celebrate Christmas and the UK public holidays to acknowledge our British side and our place as citizens; celebrating Chinese New Year is just the same thing, we acknowledge our Chinese roots at this celebration. It's not about being "evangelical" about converting people to Chinese New Year, but to make friends understand what it means to us as BBCs. And that's why it should matter or am I wrong to think this? Reply | Quote

Susan S. Cheung Posted 0:32 on 8 February 2008 Dear Tradition Believer, Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I'm glad you found my article informative. As for my brother, I don't think his attitude is atypical. I think I can safely say that views on Chinese traditions can vary greatly within families. Maybe, it's because I'm the oldest and I've kept more of the Chinese "sense" and ways or, maybe, I've come around to understand many of the traditions with maturity after ignoring them for many years. I think families can be a spectrum for the many ways BBCs think about their identity and cultural roots with many leaning towards their British upbringings. My brother is entitled to how he feels and I love him no matter what, even if he may think I'm too "old-fashioned" or "traditional". The things I believe in work for me and my life. Others have to decide what works for them and what they believe and that is an individual choice. Reply | Quote

jubilee - Happy Chinese New Year! Posted 2:20 on 4 March 2008 I very much enjoyed your article about Chinese New Year. I love all the foods and rituals surrounding the new year. We have a big family dinner to close out the old year and another to open the new year or "hoy nian". My children love the lai see as well. Like others, I spent so many years rebelling and ignoring my heritage. Then, I became a parent and my attitude has changed completely. I read as much as I can about the Lunar New Year. I try to be PC and call it LNY because other Asians celebrate it as well in addition to the Chinese :). I volunteer to go in to my children's classrooms to speak and bring DVDs, books, a music CD and even a child-size Chinese lion head. I am 2nd generation born in America to immigrant parents from Guangzhou and I am the local "expert". I don't mind because I want to instill a sense of pride in my children about being Asian. I decorate the house with banners, dragons, and many things red, clean the house, etc. and have written Gung Hay Fat Choy in Chinese for banners for my children's classrooms. I have donated childrens books about Chinese New Year to their school. My ritual is making "fahn sua" - those pork dumplings shaped like stegasaurus dinosaurs and have wrappers made in a tortilla press. Very time consuming but lovely to behold and delicious to eat. They get better with each year of practice! I will have to try your chicken recipe. Have you ever heard of "Good Luck Life" by Rosemary Gong? It is called the essential guide to Chinese American celebrations and culture. It is a fascinating read and it covers CNY, birthdays, weddings, funerals, etc. jubilee Reply | Quote

Susan S. Cheung - Happy Chinese New Year! Posted 3:12 on 5 March 2008 Dear Jubilee, Thank you for writing about your family traditions and for the new ones you have started with your own family for Lunar New Year. It's great to hear from other second generation with children and what they are doing to instill a sense of heritage with their children. It makes me feel more connected to so many others going through the same process, making the world a smaller place. Thanks for the book recommendation, it sounds great. I will definitely check it out. It would be good to make contact as you are in the States. Please feel free to drop me a line at susan@dimsum.co.uk. Regards, Susan Reply | Quote

jane - Chinese festivals Posted 1:35 on 17 April 2008 聽 您 說, 新年 是 最 重 要的 節 日. 那 是 否 說 其 他 的 節 是 不 直 得過?　列　如： 清 明,( not actually a "festival" 端午節, 中 秋 節, 等 等......... Reply | Quote

Susan S. Cheung - Chinese festivals Posted 2:41 on 4 May 2008 Jane, If you happen to read this again, can you post your comment again so I can read it to respond to it. Thank you. Susan Reply | Quote

Luke - Chinese Posted 4:11 on 4 May 2008 Hi all, Unfortunately the site does not support Chinese characters - which is a bit of shame considering we are a British Chinese website. This is due to the software that we use. It is something that we are looking to add support for in the future. Luke Reply | Quote

Deepika - New year Posted 9:41 on 24 December 2008 pura ho aap k saare Aim Sada barte rahe aap k Fame Milte rahe aap se pyar or Dosti or mila A lots of fun n masti Reply | Quote

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