Kicking off the Year of the Dog in style
Skylynn Doan, 5, above, gives a red envelope — a monetary gift called a “hongbao” in Mandarin — to one of the lions at a Lunar New Year celebration on Saturday while Lyra Dinh, right, picks out a toy while in the arms of her father, Guam. The celebration Saturday at the Chinese Community Center in west Houston featured performances, cultural crafts activities, family games and craft sales.
Thousands of Houstonians cheerfully celebrated the Lunar New Year on Saturday at the Chinese Community Center in southwest Houston.
The 2018 Lunar New Year Festival featured several performances, cultural crafts activities, family games and craft sales throughout the day. At the outdoor festival, families walked from booth to booth to play games and purchased Asian street food and bubble tea. Attendees, some of whom wore traditional costumes, took pictures with a dragon mascot.
The Chinese New Year, a 15day festivity, begins with the new moon that occurs between late January and late February. There are 12 zodiac animals, and 2018 is the Year of the Dog.
John Stuart, the fund development manager at the Chinese Community Center, said the festival draws around 12,000 people annually and continues to grow.
“We partner with a lot of different organizations that do performances in the gymnasium and they are local arts or music organizations,” Stuart said.
Nod to traditions
Performances by students and community members included the Dragon and Lion Dance, Chinese Folk Dance, Tibetan Drum Dance, Korean Monk Dance, Dai Peacock Dance and Hawaiian Hula Dance.
Rhea Kandarapally, 10, performed Bharatanatyam, a traditional Indian dance organized by the Anjali School.
“I just like dancing in front of crowds and performing because it is just very fun for me to do, and I like getting all dressed up,” said Kandarapally, who started dancing at age 5. “It is important for me because I get to show some of my talent and culture.”
Teresa Wang and her daughter Jiajia Xu, 10, both wore a qipao, a traditional Chinese dress.
Wang said her Vietnamese colleague gave Jiajia a red envelope, or “hongbao” in Mandarin, with money because she knows it’s a Chinese tradition for adults to give children or unmarried adults such envelopes for good luck.
“I think if we don’t represent all those traditions, how do (children) know these?” Wang said. “I think for them.. it is very important for them to know more about China, in case one day they go back to China.
Bringing back memories
The community center provides educational and social services to the community, including child care, job training and senior services.
“We have also been helping out with Harvey relief, helping provide case management, help people recover from their loses after Harvey,” Stuart said.
Southwest Houston is home to a large South Asian community, but Stuart said the center is open to residents of any ethnicity. Staff speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Spanish.
Vu Le said he decided to attend the festival with his 12-year-old son, Tuan, so they could enjoy the Lunar New Year with the community. “Sometimes we go to something like this or go to a restaurant for him to see the Lion Dance because different groups have different styles of the dance,” Le said. “When you see the Lion Dance, it’s just like a new year back in the country, back in when I grew up in Vietnam. It brings back the memories.”