There will be firecrackers and lion dances aplenty this Thursday in Canada as thousands of Chinese citizens usher in the Year of the Sheep.
This Thursday, Feb. 19, is Chinese New Year's Day in 2015. The date marks the start of a 15-day traditional event celebrated by Chinese people around the world.
Staff at the Lingnan Express in St. Albert have been working for weeks to get ready for the big day, and have decked the place out with gold peaches, gold ingots and gold fish, says restaurant owner Miles Quon.
"It's like a rap video in here!" he jokes.
"Everything's gold!"
Chinese New Year floats around from late January to mid-February each year due to differences in the lunar and Gregorian calendar. Each year is associated with a different animal and different element in the Chinese zodiac, both of which are used for horoscopes.
2015 is the year of the Wood Sheep (or Ram). Theodora Lau, author of the Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes, says that those born in this year will be righteous, sincere, trusting, devoted and thoughtful.
The new year is a time to sweep away the troubles of last year and start anew, Quon says.
"This year is an especially good year for that, because the Year of the Sheep or Ram is typically considered a calmer year," he notes, as sheep are seen as calm. Last year was the Year of the Horse, which is a wilder, more tumultuous animal.
Traditional Chinese families will have spent weeks getting ready for the big event, Quon says.
Quon's mother, Amy, has prepared some 800 red lucky money envelopes to distribute to customers at the family's Edmonton-area restaurants, for example. Elders traditionally give these gifts to children or unmarried family members. (The ones given to customers will contain chocolate gold coins and other prizes, she says.)
She's also had her family members trick out their homes in a very particular way to ensure good feng shui, Quon says.
"She'll read her books and she'll say I need a grey carpet with six coins on my west-facing door so I don't get sick."
Party time
Chinese New Year gets into full swing Feb. 18 with the traditional gigantic family dinner. Leftovers are encouraged, as they are thought to symbolize wealth carried over into the new year.
Quon says traditional foods include dumplings, which resemble gold ingots, sesame seed balls, which symbolize money rolling into your house, and shrimp, the word for which translates to "laughter."
Feb. 21 will feature a big party in Edmonton's Chinatown hosted by local businesses.
St. Albert martial arts instructor Barrie Schulha says he and the rest of the Jing Ying Martial Arts Association will be there to perform martial arts demonstrations and that other big event of the new year: the lion dance.
"In Chinese culture, the lion is always seen as powerful," Schulha says, and it's considered lucky to have one visit your place during new year's.
"It takes great strength, agility and stamina to be a good lion-dance member."
Dancers team up to operate an elaborate lion costume and hop, roll and jump to the crash of drums, cymbals and exploding firecrackers, Schulha says. Teams will have the lion snag a head of lettuce (which is often hung from a high place) in its mouth, devour it, and messily spray it everywhere, blessing all the leaves touch.
Non-Chinese Canadians can celebrate Chinese New Year by wearing red and eating traditional foods such as shrimp and spring rolls, Quon says.
This holiday gives Quon a chance to add a little culture to the foods he serves, which he says he loves to do.
"I think that's the most important thing – sharing our culture with people who don't know."
