Lunar New Year Celebration

Growing up in Western PA, Chinese New Year was not exactly a giant celebration. Chinese culture, and non-western European cultures in general, were not focused on during my K-12 education. When my world history teacher "covered" a unit on China, she gave us a giant packet of questions we had to look up in our textbook. She said that we weren't going to have to have a test on it because the names were just "too hard to pronounce and memorize."

In fact, I did not know really much at all about Chinese New Years until moving to Houston, and specifically learning quite a lot when I started working in the Sharpstown area. My school is next to the new Chinatown, a booming area of Houston at Beltway 8 and Bellaire. Chinatown used to be in the downtown area, but like most things and people in Houston, it moved outside the loop, and now looks something like this:

This Asian population of Houston is around 6% of the population, and is growing leaps and bounds every year. More than one in five foreign-born Houstonians — an estimated 318,284 persons — were born in Asia.  My school specifically focuses on teaching Mandarin Chinese and culture, and we have one of the strongest Chinese language programs in the Houston area. For many of my students, Chinese will be their third language, as they are already fluent in English and Spanish. I have loved learning about Chinese culture with my students, and excited for the opportunities it will provide them in the future. 


One of such aforementioned great opportunities was today. I was working late at Saturday school this morning, and I could feel my stomach growling. I couldn't stop watching the clock, knowing that in just a few hours I would be stuffing my face with the most delicious fried Tofu, noodles and enjoying a Taiwanese tapioca tea. Why? Lunar New Years!

The Chinese Lunar New Year celebration at Houston's Chinese Community Center is one of the largest and most exciting events of the year in Houston as it combines two of it's best assets: diversity and food. Thousands of Houstonians trek to the southwest side of town to enjoy a day of food, performances, and shopping.

In the four years that I've been attending, the crowd seems to get larger and more diverse. Our school preforms every year, and the crowd loves it as our band of Hispanic students performs traditional Chinese songs with a rock twist. I also cheered for my friend's daughter Alexandria perform the Lion Mask dance and the  Lantern Dance.

The CCC programming includes all of the traditional and modern favorites from all over Asia, as well as a Mariachi band and an El Salvadorian performance. I spent awhile talking to a student of mine, Rosa, who is part Vietnamese, part Hispanic, and has studied Korean at the CCC. She is now studying Chinese at out school, so it will be her 5th language. She, like many others in Houston are a blend of interesting cultures and backgrounds. Talking to Rosa and being at the festival made me extremely appreciative of my own path and experiences, and to live in a city where I can learn so much about the world without actually leaving.