Chinese New Year in Canada
http://latestsnewsforyou.blogspot.com/2013/02/chinese-new-year-in-canada.html
By Brad Franklin
Chinese New Year is not an official holiday in Canada but that doesn't mean it isn't celebrated. One of the benefits of living in a multicultural country is that, while we have our own culture and traditions, largely based on those of Britain and France, we have the opportunity to enjoy a taste of other cultures from around the globe.
With people of more than 80 national backgrounds represented here there is something from, and for, almost everyone. Indeed, one of the interesting differences between China and Canada is that, in China if you see someone who looks like me, you know he is a foreigner. In Canada if I see someone who appears to be Chinese, I have no idea whether he is Chinese or was born here and is just as Canadian as I am.
Thus, as the lunar New Year approaches, there is an air of excitement. There is no Spring Festival here in the sense of a national holiday, a closing of schools, a universal gathering of families across the country but something is happening. Large stores such as Walmart have displays of Chinese produce, much of it in red and gold packaging. After all, there are more than one million people of Chinese ancestry in Canada. Decorations are appearing on buildings in Chinatowns in the major cities. Canadians whose forefathers came from China are inviting the rest of us to come to their party and many of us are going.
Last weekend on Vancouver Island, the Victoria Conservatory of Music presented an afternoon of entertainment by members of various Chinese organizations in the city. This was the second annual program billed as a harmonious celebration of Spring Festival and it was emblematic of not only the contribution people from China have made to the Canadian mosaic but, in a wider sense, the success of a country that, although small in population, welcomes everyone.
The Master of Ceremonies for the afternoon performance was former Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe, himself a person of Chinese heritage. It featured musicians and dancers, most of whom were Chinese-Canadians and the theme was clearly reflective of their culture. Young girls put on a dance about picking mushrooms, ladies from a Chinatown club presented a fashion show, there was excellent music and the show ended with an energetic lion dance. Afterwards there was Chinese food for everyone as the city's Chinese community paid homage to its rich cultural background and invited its non-Chinese neighbors to be with them for the celebration.
This coming weekend there will be more parties in downtown Victoria. These will be outdoors and will feature dancers and marshal arts demonstrations in the city's vibrant Chinatown. Restaurants will be packed and, for a little while, all of us who go there will be just a little Chinese.
The author is a former political reporter, newscaster and federal government employee in Canada. He is a regular columnist for China's English Salon magazine and lives on Vancouver Island.
Source: china.org.cn
Chinese New Year is not an official holiday in Canada but that doesn't mean it isn't celebrated. One of the benefits of living in a multicultural country is that, while we have our own culture and traditions, largely based on those of Britain and France, we have the opportunity to enjoy a taste of other cultures from around the globe.
With people of more than 80 national backgrounds represented here there is something from, and for, almost everyone. Indeed, one of the interesting differences between China and Canada is that, in China if you see someone who looks like me, you know he is a foreigner. In Canada if I see someone who appears to be Chinese, I have no idea whether he is Chinese or was born here and is just as Canadian as I am.
Thus, as the lunar New Year approaches, there is an air of excitement. There is no Spring Festival here in the sense of a national holiday, a closing of schools, a universal gathering of families across the country but something is happening. Large stores such as Walmart have displays of Chinese produce, much of it in red and gold packaging. After all, there are more than one million people of Chinese ancestry in Canada. Decorations are appearing on buildings in Chinatowns in the major cities. Canadians whose forefathers came from China are inviting the rest of us to come to their party and many of us are going.
Last weekend on Vancouver Island, the Victoria Conservatory of Music presented an afternoon of entertainment by members of various Chinese organizations in the city. This was the second annual program billed as a harmonious celebration of Spring Festival and it was emblematic of not only the contribution people from China have made to the Canadian mosaic but, in a wider sense, the success of a country that, although small in population, welcomes everyone.
The Master of Ceremonies for the afternoon performance was former Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe, himself a person of Chinese heritage. It featured musicians and dancers, most of whom were Chinese-Canadians and the theme was clearly reflective of their culture. Young girls put on a dance about picking mushrooms, ladies from a Chinatown club presented a fashion show, there was excellent music and the show ended with an energetic lion dance. Afterwards there was Chinese food for everyone as the city's Chinese community paid homage to its rich cultural background and invited its non-Chinese neighbors to be with them for the celebration.
This coming weekend there will be more parties in downtown Victoria. These will be outdoors and will feature dancers and marshal arts demonstrations in the city's vibrant Chinatown. Restaurants will be packed and, for a little while, all of us who go there will be just a little Chinese.
The author is a former political reporter, newscaster and federal government employee in Canada. He is a regular columnist for China's English Salon magazine and lives on Vancouver Island.
Source: china.org.cn
