By: Izzy Cheung, Staff Writer
Despite now living in Canada and celebrating many traditionally western holidays, my family and I always partake in some Lunar New Year celebrations. For us, Lunar New Year is an occasion to gather around my grandmother’s wooden dining table and eat our way through dishes like xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), har gow (shrimp dumplings), and chow mein (pan-fried noodles). This year, the changing of the Lunar calendar occurs on February 10. To help adults and children get in the festive spirit, Five Blessings Collective and Richmond’s Gateway Theatre have partnered to put on A Year of Blessings. This six-episode audio play series delves into Chinese traditions and festivities while conjuring childhood experiences of Lunar New Year celebrations.
The first episode, “Bun Fun New Year,” begins with a cute opening song introducing the Bao family, a household of bunnies who are tasked with hosting this year’s Lunar New Year dinner. Bunnifer and Bunnithy Bao, the twin bunnies of the Bao house, verbally roll their eyes as Ba Ba (father) Bao retells the origin story of the Chinese zodiac — a story they’ve heard every year. In this legend, twelve animals race, and their placement at the end determines the order of the Lunar calendar. As Gung Gung (grandpa) Rabbit tells this tale, listeners can hear the hustle and bustle of various servers frantically squirming around a dim sum (Chinese brunch) restaurant trying to serve up har gow, shumai (steamed dumplings), and char sui bao (pork buns). Plates patter, uncles and aunts chatter, and chopsticks clatter as the Bao family vow to make their Lunar New Year dinner the best one yet. This particular scene drew parallels to my first time being told this story by my dad, in which we were sitting at my grandmother’s dining table while eating a home-cooked meal.
For the Bao family, hosting Lunar New Year dinner comes with added pressure, as the hosting household from the year before, the Tigers, pulled out all the stops. As they stress over being unbeatable hosts, the Bao family deciphers menus and schedules that they hope will make the day go as perfectly as possible. The preparation of dishes is accompanied by the sound of knives slicing through stalks of green onion and the plip-plip-plip of sauces being dispensed through the spouts of bottles — sounds that made my mouth water.
Celebrations and gatherings aren’t complete without a little fun competition, and the dinner at the Bao household is no exception. A staple in Chinese households, mahjong is a four-person game that’s kind of similar to the card game rummy. The rustling of the mahjong tiles slices its way through the frantic frenzy that becomes the Bao household as guests begin to filter into the home. The sound brings the smooth, cold feeling of marble tiles into my hands, and the beacon-like laughter of my grandparents as they win even more of my parents’ money.
At the end of the day, for both the Bao household and those that celebrate Lunar New Year, the purpose of these festivities is to come together as a family. Any pressure that arises out of preparing the perfect dish is meaningless when enjoyed with loved ones. For us, celebrating Lunar New Year isn’t just about preserving culture — it’s about keeping the memories of loved ones alive, present or not. Whether you’re enjoying a tray of Hong Kong egg tarts around a dim sum table or gathering under a soft, honeyed light that illuminates the dishes you grew up enjoying, cCultural celebrations are about showing your appreciation to those who came before you, and those who surround you.
