Lunar New Year 2012

Enter the Dragon ... tomorrow is the Lunar New Year, and 2012 happens to be the Year of the Water Dragon! The majority of my students happen to be Chinese, and since we have Korean, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese students who also celebrate it as their New Year, we had a big potluck party at work on Friday - enough to make me gag and not go near ethnic Asian food for months to come! Nevertheless, we all had a blast, and one of the mixers was to ask each other about one's Chinese animal signs - quite an interesting way of finding out one's age, mind you!

Celebrations of this kind by the immigrant diaspora in Vancouver is very heartening and delightful, and it is always an interesting lesson in cultural diversity, as we learn about other cultures as they showcase them through their costumes, food, music, dance, handicrafts, and so on. One can sense their pride in their culture, as they establish themselves in a new land and are immersed in an acculturation process themselves. Two months from now, we will be celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, as we will the other festivals of Vancouver's multi-cultural population in the days to come. For now, Gung Hey Fat Choy! Xin Nian Hao! Happy New Year of the Water Dragon and may the Water Dragon usher in prosperity to all of us this year!