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Celebrating Community and Tradition: Part 4

by | Feb 15, 2021 | Beyond the Collections, Culture, Food, Guest Author, Uncategorized

Memory:

The Diary of an Immigrant

Contributor: Alison Fong is a junior Honors College student majoring in history, international and global studies with a concentration in peace, human rights, and security, and Asian studies and minoring in East Asian history and politics. Originally born in Singapore before moving to Phoenix, Arizona in 2010, Alison is involved on campus as a member of the University of Arkansas Museum Student Advisory Council, an Honors College Ambassador, and a member of Sigma Iota Rho. After college, Alison desires to pursue a masters in global and Asian history and further her knowledge of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Three-year-old me in my red Tang suit in front of a Kumquat tree (symbolizing prosperity) outside my grandmother’s house

Chinese New Year began early in the day for me. I would put on my new clothes that I had bought for the new year and wait for my parents to finish getting dressed. Taking a picture together as a family was a tradition that we did almost every Chinese New Year. I would watch as my father adjusted the tripod to the right height, so that everyone could be captured in the picture. I was used as a model, as he would ask me to sit on the couch, so that he could properly fix the camera angle.

Our Chinese New Year family picture from 2003

After posing for my father’s camera, we would head off to the first house of our many relatives. On the first day of the new year, we would always visit my paternal grandmother’s house first, where she lived with my uncle, aunt, and my two cousins. Sometimes we would have our breakfast at my grandmother’s house, where we would dine on warm Cantonese-style century egg congee or stir-fried beehoon noodles. More family pictures are taken with my grandmother and my uncle’s family before we were off yet again to the next house.

Me and my 奶奶 (năinai: paternal grandmother)

The act of visiting the houses’ of your relatives is called 拜年 (bàinián), and it is a way of respecting and honoring your relatives and elders during the new year. Chinese families tend to be very large and extensive, which means that it is impossible to see every relative regularly throughout the year. Often times, Chinese New Year is the only time you might see a distant relative in a year (other than weddings or funerals). At times, the numerous visits and constant driving from place to place can be quite tiring, especially for the adults. For the children, however, Chinese New Year means so much more than house visits, new clothes, and family pictures.

During these house visits, the elders will give red packets filled with varied amounts of cash to the children. These cash amounts range from $1 to $20, at times. Of course, as a child, there is no use for such cash at the moment, but my parents would keep my Chinese New Year money for my future use. Other than the red packets, every house would have a plethora of Chinese New Year snacks on the coffee tables for the children to munch on while the adults caught up with each other. Some of my favorites were pineapple tarts, kueh bangkit, bak kwa, kueh bahulu, spicy prawn roll, kueh lapis, kueh kapit, nian gao, and iced gem biscuits.

Probably because I was a child, I barely remember the relatives whose houses that we visited, but I do remember the interior of their houses. If you asked me, “Do you remember your second grand aunty?”, I would have trouble remembering to whom you might be referring. However, if you asked me, “Do you remember the grand aunty with the closet full of coca cola products?”, I would know exactly which grand aunty you are talking about.

After moving to the United States, Chinese New Year became more and more difficult to celebrate. My family was the only one who moved to the United States, so the rest of my family were left behind in Singapore. Flying back and forth from the US to Singapore was both expensive and inconvenient, and Chinese New Year always took place during a school day for me, making it virtually impossible to fly home for a couple of days (which was not worth it for the price and the duration of the flight). As a family, we tried to celebrate it on our own or with other Asian friends, yet it was always a bit different. Whether it was the lack of traditional snacks or the presence of my close cousins and grandparents, Chinese New Year in the US was just different.

Me, holding a red packet from my parents, in 2014, 4 years after moving to the US.

I do not believe that Chinese New Year in the US would ever be like Chinese New Year in Singapore, and I’m certain that Chinese New Year in Singapore now has also evolved from when I was a child. After I graduate from the University of Arkansas, I intend on returning to Singapore for my master’s degree. I hope then that I will be able to celebrate a meaningful Chinese New Year with my relatives, something that I have not been able to experience ever since I came to the US.

Image Attributions:

  • Alison Fong. Family Photographs.

  • Images from “Favorite Snacks of Chinese New Year” graphic: