Schema Magazine

On behalf of all Dragon-born babies, I wish you a mind-blasting year of the Dragon.

Wait, wasn't Lunar New Year a week ago, you ask? Actually, this festival spans for a good 15 days, until the Lantern Festival. Not joking!

As a 1.5 generation kid growing up in Richmond, my relationship with LNY was always a complex one. I love how Chinese it made me feel. My mostly Southern Chinese cultural background gets a huge dose of reigniting and every lucky greeting I say to family members seems to show that my roots and I are still one. Yet at the same time, the missing patches in my knowledge of the LNY traditions constantly remind me that I'm not entirely "Chinese" enough.

But really, how "Chinese" or "Asian" do I have to be in order to celebrate LNY? I made peace with the fact that I didn't have to be either/or to join in on the celebration. Fun is fun. Especially if we're talking about 2 weeks of it!

Join me in reclaiming LNY as exactly who you are and make this year's LNY truly YOURS, no matter where you're "really from".

I present to you Schema's guide to having a rockin' Lunar New Year, cultural navigator style!

EAT

No holiday is complete without the satisfaction of stuffing your face, fully licensed. Just like Christmas, LNY is always the time where calories rack up for good cheer. I'm always extra thankful for Vancouver during Asian holidays because of the ample supply of Asian food markets.

For me, LNY is never complete until I've eaten radish cake (luo bo gao), glutinous rice balls (tang yuan), year cake (nian gao), and dumplings (jiao zi).

It's even better when you get to make them. This year I tried my hands with the glutinous rice balls (success!) and dumplings (moderately successful...). You don't need to be Jamie Oliver to cook; you just have to be YouTube savvy.

As a radish cake fanatic, I implore you to try your hands at this:

Too lazy? You can always buy cake after cake at your nearest T&T or any supermarket that has a well-developed Asian food section.

DECORATE

Join in on the red/gold action by making your own decorations. Grab red pieces of paper and Chinese calligraphy ink to write out holiday greetings, if you're skillful. Or just bring out the construction paper and Sharpies and write away. Glitterize with gold dust and tape them in the most auspicious place (follow your gut instinct) in your abode.

What to write? "Have a splendid year with lots to spare", "Good health and happiness", "and "Live long and prosper".

You could also try something creative. This seemingly too easy decoration would get you some oohs and ahhs for sure:

SPREAD SOME LOVE

Spread LNY cheer by visiting your friends and families on the first and second day of the New Year to bai nian, a common social activity where you visit friends and exchange lucky greetings.

Or you could share that warm fuzzy holiday love by throwing a big LNY party. Impress your guests with your new cooking skills by making some radish cake. Make a Rising Dragon cocktail. And amaze everyone with your sudden mastery of the Chinese language by dishing out lucky Chinese greetings.

I think Vancourites can graduate from the generic Gong Hey Fat Choy and start getting into fancier greetings. I don't know Korean or Vietnamese, but here's a list of Chinese Mandarin greetings with pronunciation that any native English speaker can master under a minute, without butchering the language.

GO OUT

Living in Vancouver definitely has its perks. I mean other than the pristine air, water-out-front-mountain-up-back scenic location. There are just so many things you can do to get in on the gong-hey-fat-choy spirit. Some of the festivities are just getting started! Here are just a few:

• Check out the Temple Fair at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden this weekend.
• Have an authentic Chinese New Year dinner at these restaurants.
• Join the Chinatown Chinese New Year Parade
• All's Well, Ends Well 2012

Other than it being just another way moviemakers rack up major moolah, LNY films are always a part of LNY celebration, at least in my family. For the first time ever, the Hong Kong New Year celebration movie is coming to Vancouver and screening at the Cineplex in Richmond and Burnaby, in Chinese with English subtitles! AWEW 2012 is the 7th installment of the LNY comedic film series led by a star studded cast. It started with the classic first one in 1992 (which I recommend ALL of you should watch). Check our tribute.ca for show times. Showing January 27th!

DO THE LION DANCE SHUFFLE

'Nough said.

Feel free to leave in the comment box on how you celebrate your Lunar New Year!

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Ada Lee is a sixth year Human Geography/International Relations student who is interested in people and what makes them tick. The list ranges from social justice to astrology. She tries to get by in life by getting high on ideas, breathing deeply, and dreaming vividly. Follow 0415ADA at your own risk.