Holiday helps families pass customs across generations
By: Beth Winegarner
Examiner Staff Writer
January 29, 2009
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| Last supper to remember: Wendy Dere, bottom left, and her family gather for the closing meal the night before the Chinese Lunar New Year. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner) |
SAN FRANCISCO — As the Year of the Ox approached, Sunset district resident Wendy Dere spent much of her time in the kitchen with her mother, making lettuce cups stuffed with oysters and mushroom caps brimming with ground fish.
The annual Chinese Lunar New Year arrives each year with multiple feast days, both before and after the holiday, celebrated Jan. 26 this year. As Chinese-Americans like Dere struggle to maintain the New Year’s traditions, they also look forward to the delicacies of the season — just as many Americans anticipate the sweet potatoes and pumpkin pies of Thanksgiving.
“Some of the foods, we only get to eat once a year, like shark-fin soup,” Dere said. “I’m trying to learn how to make them. Mom has been teaching me over the years, but they never taste quite like Grandma’s.”
Dere’s father, who was born in the United States, returned to China in the 1950s to find a bride. Once married, he and Dere’s mother moved to California and raised eight children in San Francisco’s Chinatown.
In addition to food, the household was always filled with fresh flowers during the New Year, and the kids were expected to pitch in for the annual housecleaning, sweeping away dust from every corner.
In exchange, they received lai-see, red envelopes with small amounts of money. Some children spend their lai-see on candy, but Dere and her brothers and sisters were encouraged to save it for something special.
“We didn’t have a lot of luxuries — I remember getting into fashion and saving up to buy new shoes, the newest Nikes or Adidas, and saving up for new clothes,” she said.
Now that Dere, 41, and her siblings are grown up, the family’s celebration has become more widespread — but no less traditional. She visits with her brothers and sisters and now hosts the annual feasts, not only to bring the generations together but to make sure her children — an 11-year-old son and 6-month-old twin girls — grow up surrounded by those same Chinese customs that shaped her youth.
“I try my best,” Dere said. “My mother imparts some of the traditions, and we have them visit Grandma as much as possible so they can experience what it’s like to be part of a traditional Chinese family.”
Symbolism and tradition
Significant traditions associated with Chinese Lunar New Year and their meanings:
‘Gung hay fat choy!’ The unofficial slogan of the New Year, this Cantonese phrase translates into “Best wishes! Have a prosperous and good year.”
Red envelopes Known as “hong bao” in Mandarin, these envelopes, filled with coins or crisp bills, are a frequent gift to Chinese children. The hue is significant, as the color stands for good luck and good fortune in the Chinese culture.
Dragons A mainstay in New Year parades, dragons are highly regarded in Chinese traditions for their fertility, goodness and poise.
Oranges and tangerines Chinese families use these fruits as a means of decorating their homes during New Year festivities, often displaying them on trays and mantles.
Whole fish In Cantonese, the pronunciation of fish has the same sound as abundance, an important theme of the New Year, and one that translates into traditional Chinese cuisine. Fish are usually steamed whole, to signify a beginning and an ending.
Firecrackers Many Chinese traditions touch on the importance of pyrotechnics, which are often heard during New Year celebrations. Some tales say the noise will wake a dragon in the sky to spread rain for crops; others say the explosions will scare off evil spirits that linger nearby.
Noodles Hand-stretched noodles represent a good and expansive life.
Cleaning Not only a functional means of clearing out the cobwebs, cleaning the house during the New Year is an important way of sweeping back the past and greeting the future without blight.
‘Chi fan le mei you?’ With food playing such an important role in the traditions of the New Year, this phrase — which translates from Cantonese to “have you eaten yet?” — is a frequent greeting at family gatherings.
The Year of the Ox
2009 is year 4706 in the Chinese calendar, and it ushers in the Year of the Ox, the second in the 12-cycle Lunar calendar.
- Previous ox years: 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997
- Next Year of the Ox: 2021
- Positive personality traits: Patient, quiet, easygoing, dependable
- Negative personality traits: Stubborn, quick to anger
- Most compatible with: Dog, rat, rooster, snake
- Least compatible with: Ram
- Best ox careers: Archaeologist, academic, interior designer, engineer, florist, mechanic
- Lucky numbers: 1, 3, 5, 12, 15, 33, 35, 51, 53
- Equivalent Western sign: Capricorn or Taurus
- Famous oxen: Warren Beatty, Jon Bon Jovi, Jeff Bridges, Dustin Hoffman, Walt Disney, Jane Fonda, Eddie Murphy, Bruce Springsteen
Other Chinese astrological signs
Rat
1900, 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2032
Tiger
1902, 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022
Rabbit
1903, 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023
Dragon
1904, 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024
Snake
1905, 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025
Horse
1906, 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026
Ram
1907, 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027
Monkey
1908, 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028
Rooster
1909, 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029
Dog
1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030
Pig
1911, 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031
A bovine blowout
Celebrate the Year of the Ox at these events:
Daily through Feb. 8
Chinese New Year Carnival
10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Walter U. Lum Place, Washington and Clay streets.
Today
Chinese New Year Magic
The magic tricks of Andrew Ngo, for children of all ages.
10:30 a.m., St. Teresa’s community hall, Connecticut and 19th streets.
Saturday
Chinese New Year
Basketball Jamboree
10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Chinese Recreation Center, 1199 Mason St.
Miss Chinatown USA Pageant
7:30 p.m. Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon St.
Tickets: $30, $40 and $60
Feb. 6
Harrah’s Miss Chinatown USA Coronation Ball
6 p.m., San Francisco Hilton & Towers, 333 O’Farrell St.
Tickets: $120
Feb. 7
Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade
5:15 p.m.-8 p.m.; Market and Second streets to Kearny and Jackson streets
Free, or $30 for bleacher tickets
Feb. 7-8
Chinese New Year Community Street Fair
10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
Grant Avenue from California to Pacific streets; Pacific Avenue from Kearny to Stockton streets; Washington and Jackson streets from Kearny to Stockton streets.
Chinese Culture Center Spring Festival
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
750 Kearny St., 3rd Floor (Hilton SF/Financial District)
Feb. 8
San Francisco Symphony Chinese New Year Celebration
4 p.m., Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Ave.
Tickets: $22-$50
Feb. 15
Chinese Chamber of Commerce Chinatown Run 10K, 5K Run/Walk
7 a.m. preregistration and 8 a.m. race start; Pre-registration at Portsmouth Square, with race beginning at Grant and Sacramento streets.
