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news: toronto
TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2012
Politicians help kick off Year of the Dragon
PHOEBE HO/FOR METRO
Ontario Tory leader Tim Hudak joined by other local politicians for the Chinese New Year opening ceremony PHOEBE HO
TORONTO@METRONEWS.CA
The wet weather on Monday didn’t dampen the festive spirit in Chinatown, as local politicians and more than 100 people gathered to kick off the Year of the Dragon, which promises a year of luck and prosperity. The new year was off to a hopeful start for business owners at the Chinatown Centre Monday as throngs of people piled into the mall to celebrate. “In the last 10 years, I never saw such a big crowd in the mall,” said Chinatown Centre business owner Calvin Cai. “The economy is going down and tourists are not coming, hopefully this kind of show will bring out the city, focus on Chinatown TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
Mark Ng, manager of Dragon Dynasty Chinese Cuisine.
and come back.” Apart from the traditional dragon and lion dance, politicians like Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak, Tory M.P. John Carmichael, Trinity-Spadina councillor Adam Vaughan and many others gathered at the Chinese New Year opening ceremony organized by the Toronto Chinatown BIA to greet the community and usher in the new year with speeches and the traditional eye-dotting ceremony. “It’s just a great energy,” said Hudak. “There’s no doubt there are going to be some challenges in Toronto when it comes to jobs, getting our budgets back in order at both the city and provincial level, but I believe in the future of this province. The energy here says that despite tough times, better days
Chinatown party The event marks the beginning of 15-days of celebration. Toronto Chinatown BIA project co-ordinator Ting Hsieh says performances and other festivities will continue throughout the week in Chinatown.
are yet to come and hopefully the Year of the Dragon will help with that.” Carmichael was also pleased with the outcome of the event. “What a big turnout,” he said. “I was looking around all the way up, there were people lining the hallway up the galleria here and I think it tells you the story that ChineseCanadians are a very important part of Canada.”
Tim Hudak and other local politicians took part in the eye-dotting ceremony on Monday to “awaken” the sleeping lions at the Chinatown Centre on Spadina Avenue.
Feasting on the Chinese New Year Families in all cultures gather on major holidays to feast — and Chinese New Year is no exception. “Food has always been big on Chinese people’s list of priorities,” said Kelvin Chen, Manchu Wok CEO and president. “But to me, food is also an excuse for people to
spend time together, talk to each other and see each other.” The typical Chinese New Year menu would generally include fish served whole, which signifies abundance, chicken or egg rolls shaped into gold bullion, symbolizing prosperity, and a list of
other foods believed to bring in luck. Aside from food, there are many ongoing events throughout the 15-day celebration. The dragon and lion dance, which Chen says is seen as a kind of blessing for the rest of the year, house-cleaning, firecrackers and handing out
lucky money stuffed in red envelopes are also part of the agenda. Age-old traditions — which may not be followed as closely as they used to, include a list of do’s and don’ts (see Metro story Friday, Jan 20, page 13). “On the sixth or sev-
enth day, you should try to stay home because if you go out you might end up quarrelling with somebody,” said Chen. “You could find those things in the old Chinese Almanac, but unfortunately, I think a lot of those are getting lost.” PHOEBE HO
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