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:
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
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.
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.”
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.
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 |
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.
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.
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.
