For 70-year-old May Quan Woo, being born and raised in El Centro meant that celebrating the Chinese New Year was extra special because it was a way for her and her family to stay tied to their Chinese roots.
“Culture is very important. If we don’t continue the Chinese traditions, it will be lost,” Woo said.
As a child, the Chinese New Year, or Lunar Year as it’s known in China, was a time for Woo and her siblings to embrace their Chinese heritage by participating in traditional rituals and superstitions, as well as preparing symbolic meals as part of the New Year celebration.
Growing up, as a Chinese American, New Year’s Day was the only day Woo’s parents would make their children eat their meals with the traditional Chinese chopsticks, a difficult task for Woo to manage having used the common American utensils on a regular basis.
“I remember having to use the chopsticks and being afraid because my father would tell us, ‘You kids better not drop those chopsticks; it’ll bring bad luck,’” Woo said.
Now, as a grandmother, Woo still celebrates the Chinese New Year and continues the many traditional activities she once did as a child.
“In China, people celebrate the whole month, but here, we will celebrate for about three days; New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and the day after the New Year. It’s fun to keep up the tradition in the Valley because this is my home,” Woo said.
To enter the New Year on a positive note, Woo and many other Chinese Americans in the Valley have begun preparing days in advance.
The house is first spotlessly cleaned to bring the home and family a good New Year beginning, with all the sharp knives and cutting tools hidden away to avoid cutting oneself and bringing bad luck, Woo explained.
Children are also decorated in new clothes with bright, brilliant colors, that are then put aside to be worn on New Year’s Day, she said.
“The clothes are typically red or other bright colors; never black or dark,” Woo said.
Children are also given New Year’s Day gifts of “good luck” money wrapped in red envelopes and decorated in gold symbols that translate to wishes for a happy, prosperous and successful New Year.
“It’s a really happy day for the whole family,” Woo said.
Having cooked days before today’s celebration, Woo and her family will be gathering together this evening to feast on a traditional Chinese dinner so grand it is often compared to the American Thanksgiving day meal.
“We make a lot of traditional Chinese food, in honor of the New Year. My husband and I already bought some of the food and we’ve began preparing some of the meals,” Woo said Friday morning.
One of the dishes common this time of year in Woo’s family is “jai,” also known as Buddha’s delight, a vegetarian dish. The dish contains about nine different ingredients all symbolizing something you want to have in the coming year, Woo said.
Some ingredients include long rice threads for long life, oysters or “ho see” for happiness, Chinese red dates or “hoong joe” for good luck, gold vegetables or “gum choy” for wealth and “fat choy,” for prosperity.
“We also cook chicken, but we make sure to keep the head and feet attached as a symbol of completeness,” Woo said.
Having learned most of her New Year’s dishes from her grandmother, Woo hopes to keep many of the Chinese traditions alive by passing on her culture’s values, rituals, and even meals to her own grandchildren.
“We believe in education and tradition; both are very important for our children to know,” Woo said.
Combining both themes seamlessly, San Diego State University-Imperial Valley campus held an early Lunar Year celebration for many of its students and faculty, Thursday evening.
Led by the instructors of the Chinese language and culture classes at SDSU-IV campus, partygoers celebrated the New Year by singing greeting songs, playing games, watching a Gongfu demonstration and loading their bellies full of tasty Chinese dishes, while embracing the traditions and spirit of the Chinese culture.
Throughout the festivities, students and family members wished each other all the best, “wàn shì rù yì,” as well as prosperity and wealth to one another, “Gong xi fa cái,” as many Northern Chinese families and friends would say this time of year.
Staff Writer Celeste Alvarez can be reached at 760-337-3442 or at email@example.com
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