Year Of The Horse 2014

January 31st is the beginning of the Lunar New Year according to the Chinese Zodiac Calendar and gallops on until February 18th, 2015. It is the Year of the Horse. This celebration of the New Year has always been special for me. For many years, I was fortunate to be able to help the children in the Toronto Chinatown community prepare for the celebration – through my work. Many celebrations and preparations take place for this occasion in Canada, especially where there are large Chinese communities.

Toronto has signs of Lunar New Year preparation everywhere. The Toronto Symphony is giving a Concert on Monday, February 3rd, at 7 p.m. and there is a Gala Dinner as well. Here are some details about the program for the Concert:

Li Huanzhi: Spring Festival Overture
Tchaikovsky: Variations on a Rococo Theme
Dvořák: Romance in F Minor for Violin and Orchestra
Mao Yuan: New Year’s Greeting
Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Tan Dun: The Triple Resurrection

Hear Rachmaninoff’s dazzling Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini performed by the sensational Yuja Wang. Afterwards, Long Yu, Chief Conductor of the China Philharmonic and Music Director of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, will lead the Orchestra in a new work by award-winning composer Tan Dun.

This will be an excellent performance, no doubt, with so many distinguished guests participating. The Celebration Dinner is at 8:45 p.m. at the Shangri-La Hotel, Toronto. For music lovers, this is an event not to be missed.

This is at a Chinese Restaurant on Spadina Ave. in Toronto. We were there for dim-sum.

Food is a very important part of Chinese New Year Celebrations. “The New Year’s Eve dinner is the most important dinner for Chinese. Normally this is the family reunion dinner, especially for those with family members away from home. In the New Year’s Eve dinner, normally fish will be served. Dumplings are the most important dish in Northern China. These two dishes mean prosperous. Other dishes are depending on personal preference. The majority of Chinese will have New Year’s Eve dinner at home instead of a restaurant.” In 2009, I spent the Chinese New Year in Hong Kong. It was an awesome experience. My observation was that many people were eating out.

Canada Post outlets everywhere are carrying stamps, coins, and other collectibles for the Year of the Horse. The stamps are very beautiful and I tried to capture some images while I was at the store and also from the January/February issue of “Details.” This is a publication put out by Canada Post that highlights new Canadian stamps. According to Details, “those born under the sign have more than their fair share of ingenuity, a gift for communication and a taste for the spotlight – traits that also set the benchmark for this year’s stamp design.”

I decided to put an image of real horses in this collage. This photo was taken at a country wedding I attended on Wolfe Island.

As you can see from all the collages, the predominant traditional Chinese colors of red and gold are depicted everywhere.

As I see more evidence of the Lunar New Year as I go about the City, I will update this blog post. Hope you enjoy the collages.

UPDATE: As I was out in the Chinatown area of Toronto yesterday, January 28th, here is what I saw as preparations for Chinese New Year are underway.

There are signs up announcing the events taking place this Saturday for the festivities in Chinatown's Downtown area. In addition, inside the stores are many kinds of decorations for the home. — There are signs up announcing the events taking place this Saturday for the festivities in Chinatown’s Downtown area. In addition, inside the stores are many kinds of decorations for the home.

For the Year of the Horse, there were cards with horses, gift bags with horses, and lai see envelopes (for money) with different designs - but all in red and gold. This was in what's known as the Chinatown Centre. — For the Year of the Horse, there were cards with horses, gift bags with horses, and lai see envelopes (for money) with different designs – but all in red and gold. This was in what’s known as the Chinatown Centre.

For those with a sweet tooth, there are various assortments of cookies and candies. Some are already packaged and ready to go. There are vendors also who are selling by weight and this allows you to choose your own. My hair stylist is Vietnamese and she shared some cookies and candy with me earlier in the day - for Lunar New Year. They were delicious and came from one of those already prepared trays. — For those with a sweet tooth, there are various assortments of cookies and candies. Some are already packaged and ready to go. There are vendors also who are selling by weight and this allows you to choose your own. My hair stylist is Vietnamese and she shared some cookies and candy with me earlier in the day – for Lunar New Year. They were delicious and came from one of those already prepared trays.

Here is some information about the candy trays that I found by way of the Web:

Candy TrayThe candy tray arranged in either a circle or octagon is called “The Tray of Togetherness” and has a dazzling array of candy to start the New Year sweetly. After taking several pieces of candy from the tray, adults places a red envelope (lai see) on the center compartment of the tray. Each item represents some kind of good fortune.

* Candied melon – growth and good health* Red melon seed – dyed red to symbolize joy,happiness, truth and sincerity* Lychee nut – strong family relationships

* Cumquat – prosperity (gold)

* Coconut – togetherness

* Peanuts – long life

* Longnan – many good sons

* Lotus seed – many children

This collage shows some of the "sticky rice" tarts, among other treats. I read somewhere that this is always served as part of the big family banquets because it symbolizes the family being close together (sticking together). — This collage shows some of the “sticky rice” tarts, among other treats. I read somewhere that this is always served as part of the big family banquets because it symbolizes the family being close together (sticking together).

Many families bake these as a whole cake. However, I just saw the kind that are in the collage. Time was too short for me to get to the bakeries in Chinatown. The Chinese name for this New Year cake is Nian Gao.

Flowers and plants are an important part of decorating the home for the New Year. Many mandarin orange plants were on sale, as well as fresh forsythia branches. There were some cut flowers as you will see from the collage. This particular vendor is not usually there during the rest of the year. She’s just set this area up (right at the front of the mall) for the Chinese New Year.

Chinatown Centre - Toronto — Chinatown Centre – Toronto

UPDATE

At Niagara’s Fallsview Casino Resort, the Lunar New Year is being celebrated in a big way. The following collages will give an idea of what’s actually happening. These were taken on January 30th and although the weather outside was not too bright, everything inside was warm and welcoming for Chinese New Year.

~ Niagara's Fallsview Resort Celebrating Chinese New Year — ~ Niagara’s Fallsview Resort Celebrating Chinese New Year

In the hotel lobby and in the mall area, there were beautiful decorations – hanging lanterns, a spectacular gold horse and banner, and other hanging horse decor.

We ate at the Grand Buffet which was spectacularly decorated for Chinese New Year. The greeting and seating staff were all wearing beautiful red Chinese jackets with gold sashes. In addition to the regular buffet items, there were special extra Chinese dishes for the New Year. What a Banquet! However you say it, have a Happy New Year!

Congratulations and be Prosperous!

The most common Chinese ways of saying Happy New Year are Gong Xi Fa Cai (Mandarin) and Gong Hey Fat Choy (Cantonese). Even though the pronunciations are a little different, both are written the same way.