Calgary rings in the Chinese New Year
The wild beating of drums and colourful dragon and lion dances marked the first day of the Chinese New Year in Calgary on Saturday.
Tony Wong, vice-president of the Chinese Cultural Centre, said the annual holiday is the most significant day of the year in Chinese culture, with around 200 million people across China travelling home to celebrate the start of a new year.
“When I was growing up as a boy, the most exciting day was Chinese New Year,” Wong said. “Any boy that has been good and behaves on New Year’s Day receives a red envelope that’s supposed to contain money. This signifies good fortune.”
Children clutching red envelopes with gold writing were seen everywhere at the celebration in downtown Calgary, while hundreds of other visitors enjoyed traditional music and dance, calligraphy demonstrations and fresh food.
Wong said Chinese New Year originated thousands of years ago, and is based on the tale of a beast called the Nian, which would emerge at the end of every year and devour villagers and livestock. One year, an old man visited the village and managed to scare the beast away using bright red colours and loud noises.
Villagers took up the practice of wearing red and banging on drums and empty bowls every New Year, and legend has it the Nian never appeared again.
“That was the beginning of the custom of celebrating Chinese New Year,” he said. “There are also little posters the Chinese would put around the house by the door to keep evil spirits away and usher in good luck.”
Malcolm Chow, president and chairman of the Chinese Cultural Centre, said the holiday is also meant to dictate how the rest of the year will be spent.
“I believe that it’s up to us how we’re going to make our day — we cannot control the outside world,” Chow said. “We always take the view that if you make every day count, you can make every day better. What you do the rest of the year you start doing today.”
Among hundreds of bystanders partaking in Saturday’s festivities welcoming the Year of the Rooster were Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Premier Rachel Notley.
“It’s been very fun to participate in these wonderful celebrations,” Notley said.