Chinese New Year: The Year of The Tiger

Ocean of Slippers, Hawaii Style Celebration Series

Picking up my son from school last week, the familiar sound of beating drums and gongs grew louder and louder. And then, a flash of red and gold out of the corner of my eye— a colorful larger than life sized lion moving energetically through the school—ah yes, Chinese New Year in Hawaii …Kung Hee Fat Choy (Happy Chinese New Year)!

Lion Dance Video

Chinese New Year officially began on February 14th, 2010 of this year and welcomes in the Year of the Tiger. Based on the lunar calendar (instead of the Gregorian or solar calendar most of us mark our years by), Chinese New Year begins anywhere between January 21st and February 20th. This Chinese festivity is commonly celebrated with lion dances, the Narcissus Festival, incense burning, “lucky” money in lee see (red envelopes) for the children, along with a slew of specialty foods that symbolize the New Year .

One of the aspects that give Hawaii the identity of “melting pot” of cultures is the loose and effortless way we adopt one another’s cultures as our own. Though my ethnicity is Japanese and my nationality is American, I watch the lion dances, smile as my son shows me his gift of lee see by one of the other classroom parents and munch my way through yet another handful of candied kumquats and lotus seed.

How did you make Chinese New Year part of your life this 2010?