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My Stories of Chinese New Year
Spring Festival in a Foreign Land
Editor’s Note:
China sends the greatest number of students abroad of any country in the world, -14 percent of the global total, according to the UNESCO. The Spring Festival is probably the time when these students most miss their families. Many of them celebrate the festival in Chinatown or Chinese communities
where traditional festivals are held.
By Jing
When I was a child, Spring Festival meant a lot to me: a big meal, new clothes, or a trip to Shanghai (as we used to visit my mom's family in Shanghai every other year). As I grew up, such things became less and less attractive and Spring Festival is no more than a long holiday which usually came
near the end of winter vacation.
But the spring festival I spent in UK in 2005 reminds me of what it means to Chinese. There was a parade at China Town in London, with lion dancing and dragon dancing. Not only Chinese were there, but also many British people curious about Chinese New Year. The streets were so crowded that the
police had to block the entrance!
My Chinese New Year To-Be
Editor’s Note:
If you see me out there, don’t forget to pass me a firecracker and help me with my pronunciation on “Xin Nian Kuai Le!”
By Jonathan
China is for Chinese people. At no point during the year is that simple thought more obvious than at Chinese New Year. As a foreigner – Chinese prefer the term over other options such as “expatriate” – I am preparing myself for my first experience of the yearly upheaval and mayhem that
marks this time of year. I’ll get to learn about the Chinese way of celebrating, relying on my sorely lacking Chinese skills. Of course, it promises to be exciting, and Chinese people have much to celebrate in 2008. Increasingly, though, and as Spring Festival draws nearer, I’m overwhelmed
with one unexpected emotion: humility.
It’s the feeling of an outsider looking in. The Chinese are resolutely, and almost stubbornly, committed to doing things their own way, and marking the passing of another year is no different. A foreign mix of food, events, gifts, and greetings combined with surprisingly jovial Chinese - usually
so subdued - and I feel like I’m arriving clueless and late to the biggest, wildest party of the year. Certainly there is nothing like it on earth: the families, the fireworks, the dragon dances, and the dearth of train tickets. To an expatriate - or foreigner, or whatever - there’s nothing
like the confusion. May China welcome the New Year with joy and anticipation and all sorts of auspiciousness. And if you see me out there, don’t forget to pass me a firecracker and help me with my pronunciation on “Xin Nian Kuai Le!”
Foreigners mark Chinese New Year
Many foreign residents of Shenzhen joined their Chinese friends and neighbors in celebrating the lunar New Year over the past week in Shenzhen, Friday's Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.
Like the Chinese, expats hung red lanterns, performed the yangge dance, ate dumplings and handed out red envelopes to celebrate China's most important festival. They also visited popular spots such as the old street in Dongmen, Jingshan Villas in Shekou, China Folk Culture Villages and Window of
the World as part of the celebrations to ring out the old year and ring in the new one.
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