A16 • Saturday, January 29, 2011 • The Record
Chinese New Year a fixture in city’s history OUR PAST
ARCHIE & DALE MILLER
T
here are many historical accounts of celebrations surrounding the most important social event of the year for the Chinese people in New Westminster – Chinese New Year. These stories were often reported in the local press, sometimes with uncomplimentary statements about the events and the people.
Casey Dylan Preston
Usually, however, they noted the many festive features of the celebrations and described the broad extent of the many activities that all mixed together as the Chinese people welcomed their new year. Within our own personal family history are many stories of working closely with the Chinese, the First Nations and the Japanese within the fishing industry, especially the processing of salmon and herring products. Those who worked in this industry seemed to always share with other races and nationalities as they honoured their own customs and special days.
remembered that individual firecrackers were often very small, meant not to be separated but to be fired off as entire “strings” of explosions to create a maximum of noise to scare off evil spirits. These reminiscences emphasize that the Chinese were very interested in sharing their New Year customs and always encouraged other citizens to visit during this time of year. Our family stories are from the late 1800s and continue through to the 1980s, but they relate closely to the early Chinese New Year’s accounts from this city. Early city celebrations featured decorations of
Kalani Pepa
Lily Kaya Brugger
Rachel Lily Chan
July 22, 2010
March 17, 2010
Greg & Daniela Preston
Jon and Stephanie Chan
Parents:
In our family stories are tales of the feasting, fun and fireworks that were part of Chinese New Year festivities. These occurred in such venues as Chinatown in New Westminster, fishing plants and company towns on the coast, and Vancouver’s Chinatown. There are special memories of being given treats of candied fruit and other confections, often very different from those usually eaten but very good. Some members of the family remembered the excitement of being given fireworks to have fun with at a different time of year than Halloween. They also
Parents:
January 9, 2010 Parents:
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flowers, lanterns and good luck sayings written on pieces of red paper. There were always fireworks, music, lots of smoke and noise. Visitors were warmly welcomed and entertained with an array of items including Chinese wine, tea, cakes, fruit, nuts, preserved ginger, candied delicacies, a feast that featured pork and chicken, and perhaps even more libations and a cigar. In the early city, while Chinatown may have seemed to some a strange and curious place, many citizens did venture in and thoroughly enjoyed themselves and indulged in some of the seemingly exot-
ic aspects of this colourful part of town. A final personal family memory is of the preserved candied ginger. For our Chinese friends – Happy New Year and good luck for the Year of the Rabbit.
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