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Symbolism and meaning is integrated into everything surrounding Chinese New Year. You see it in the red banners proclaiming blessings and hopes hanging over everyone’s door. At Hong Kong’s Wong Tai Sin Temple, people rushed forward to get what they believe to be the first blessing. Even the colorful Chinese New Year’s parade involves symbolic meanings. It is believed that if you reach out and touch the dragon dancing along the parade route, you’ll receive good luck.

As I spent days immersed in these symbolisms in Hong Kong, one stands out above the rest — food, or more specifically the dinner table. Sitting around the dinner table with family, for me, is a symbol of the importance of relationship — which is the point of this whole journey. Understanding my own culture has been the guide, but in the end, relationships are what matter the most.

For the Holiday
T.Y. Po and his aunt, Kuen Lai, purchase Chinese New Year's gifts.

Photo © 2012 IMB / Kelvin Joseph

I know it’s a special time for my family as well and that it doesn’t happen as often as they would like. I remember spending summers with my aunt and uncle, Joong and Kuen Leung, as a child. My uncle worked hard to provide for his family. He came home late from work only to disappear into the night for hours selling sweet tofu pudding from a bamboo container strapped to his bike. He came home at 2 a.m., to wake up three hours later to go to his day job.

For me, this defines the people here — hard working. They work long hours so they can provide for their families. So during Chinese New Year, slowing down and spending time with your family is important.

Uncle Joong and Aunt Kuen fill our table with classic foods like fish with ginger and scallions and chicken soup filled with herbs. They also prepare a few traditional dishes weighted with symbolism specific to the New Year. For instance, the word for “fish” in Chinese is similar to the word for “abundance.” Vegetables represent surplus and great health.

New Year Cake
Uncle Joong Leung carries in a plate of the nian gao, Chinese New Year cake. The cake is traditionally eaten during the New Year's holiday to bring good luck.

Photo © 2012 IMB / Kelvin Joseph

Tradition asks that we eat looking to a New Year with physical abundance, whether it is buying power or social status. I prefer looking to this New Year as a way to build better relationships.

When we finish the meal, Uncle Leung rushes into the kitchen.

“One last thing,” he says, carrying out the nian gao or New Year’s cake.

It looks nothing like cake! It resembles more of a chewy glutinous mass. It reminds me of the fruitcakes that are given in America during the Christmas holidays. (You know, the kind of thing that you give to neighbors.)

Uncle Leung explains this cake is a symbol of raising oneself up the coming year. He wishes me a year of profit wealth and health.

As we eat, I wonder what it would be like to live here. Would I be in a perpetual state of being the outsider looking in? I have felt that way since arriving.

Coming into this journey, I simply thought that by arriving in Hong Kong, my identity and family ties would be sorted out. I wanted to be embraced … to be accepted.

Spinning Blessing
T.Y. Po holds a pinwheel up to catch the breeze. Yip Leung explains to his American cousin, T.Y. Po, that the spinning wheels impart a special blessing of peace.

Photo © 2012 IMB / Kelvin Joseph
View Photo Set

I didn’t realize how hard it would be. Despite the distance and isolation that I sometimes felt within my own family, I discovered that I needed to offer them the same kind of grace that has been given to me from God.

Maybe it’s not so much how well we fit in, but what kind of relationships we invest in. Are people blessed by what I do? Am I someone who cultivates community? Some people miss out on the most basic needs of community — wholeness and companionship — and I don’t want to be one of them.

Even though I find that relationships can be elusive in a city like Hong Kong. Working long hours away from people we care about has come to be expected. I find that for one night during Chinese New Year, things are different. Families, like mine, share life over a warm meal.

It seems like this is the same thing Jesus offered to those he loved: a seat by the fire, some fish and a shot at redemption.

Bodies press against each other as everyone tries to get a better position in the line outside of Hong Kong’s most famous shrine, Wong Tai Sin Temple. There are hundreds of people standing shoulder-to-shoulder, with only a thin rope holding the crowd in place.

We are waiting for the “year of the dragon” to begin.

I look around and realize that I’m the only one not armed with fistfuls of incense sticks. This is my first time experiencing Chinese New Year like this — in my parents’ homeland and with traditions that go back thousands of years. This is the most important festival for more than a quarter of the world’s population. The excitement from the crowd is electric as drums beat out the “count down.”

Finally, the clock strikes 11 p.m. The lunar year starts with a roar from the crowd as the rope drops. The mass of people surge forward, racing into the temple with their incense sticks raised high.

A gray haired man lunges at the altar and his incense stick is the first to touch the stone. Others crash in around him, just milliseconds behind. The man ignores the jostling and pushing around him that almost causes the statue to crash to the ground. He bows three times and closes his eyes in thoughtful prayer. He gained the honor of being the first to bring his offering to Wong Tai Sin, a Chinese deity who grants the power of healing. In exchange for the first offering of the year, he receives a special blessing.

All around me people are in awe of this special blessing, but my heart aches. What I see are people searching for peace and healing from a life filled with pain and struggle. Underneath this New Year’s temple ceremony is a real yearning to be “blessed” by the Giver of all blessings.

I came to Hong Kong to learn about my cultural heritage through the Chinese New Year’s celebration. As a first-generation American, I often live between two worlds.

God is giving me a better perspective when it comes to sharing Truth and love to others through my experiences this week. While the chaotic first minutes of this new year plays out before me, my mind drifts back to another altar I visited earlier today with my extended family:

Family Altar and Offerings

My aunt, Kuen Lai, laid out a whole-boiled chicken, roast pork and garden vegetables before an alter sitting on a worn shelf in her living room. Small wooden monuments marked a spot for each deceased family member: grandma, grandpa and her husband.

Ancestor Offering
T.Y. Po watches his aunt, Kuen Lai, light sticks of incense in a shrine honoring their ancestors. The shrine is a memorial honoring her deceased husband and his parents.

Photo © 2012 IMB / Kelvin Joseph

I quietly observed as she placed her offering before them. She explained that she was sending well wishes. In return, she asked for favor this season.

The spirit inside of me moved as I saw her sincerity to resolve feelings of abandonment and pain. I knew these feelings well — that’s what began my search for God.

She placed three incense sticks into a bowl of rice. The sticks represented worship towards heaven, earth and our ancestors. I noticed the ash sat on top of the sticks, like memories from the past, before toppling into the bowl.

“Bring peace to this house and I ask for purpose and goodwill,” my Aunt prayed as part of her search for blessings from our ancestors.

My aunt explained that some families make small fires and burn televisions, Rolexes, cell phones, — even Mercedes Benzes — as an offering to the dead in the spirit world. (Don’t worry, they are all made of paper!) Today, Aunt Lai burned wads of “hell money” which give ancestors in the next life a “little extra spending money.”

Many Chinese believe that ancestors can influence your life for good or bad. So the act of ancestor worship comes down to appeasing the spirits and encouraging them to bring good fortune.

Sharing Scripture
T.Y. Po shares scripture with his aunt, Kuen Lai. He knows the struggles she feels with abandonment and pain — that’s what began his own search for God.

Photo © 2012 IMB / Kelvin Joseph

For the longest time, I struggled with how to remember my family’s lineage and build loyalty while staying true to my own faith. Remembering your family lineage is an important part of Chinese culture. I pondered, as I have so many times, “How do I do this now that I’m a Christian?”

I thought about the power of God that I’ve seen in recent years and what I’ve studied in the Bible. This power provides more blessing than any ancestor could offer. There is no way can I turn away from that.

This thought gave me the courage to speak to my aunt about the Giver of the blessing that I’ve come to know — Jesus. His words echoed throughout her cramped apartment as we read from scripture.

She received it openly and responded, “I think I’m becoming more open to what you are telling me. But it will take time.”

My New Year’s Blessing

The chaos and noise of Wong Tai Sin Temple focuses my attention back on the people surrounding me. I take it all in and think, “God deeply cares for the temple worshiper just as much as He cares for my family.”

I can’t imagine starting the “new year” any better — understanding and experiencing my family and culture in a new way and sharing the “blessing” God gave me through His Son.

Next Post (Jan. 24): We conclude our journey by looking back over my time with family. Sign up to get story notices through our RSS feed, Twitter, or Facebook Page.

This Chinese New Year's trip to Hong Kong hasn’t been easy. I'm not sure what I expected.

It's been years since I've connected with my cousins, aunts and uncles. Years since I embraced my Chinese identity. I guess I imagined all of us together sharing intimate, quality time during this "family holiday."

While I have spent time with my family, one thing stands out: like various American holidays — everyone gets wrapped up in the "busyness" of preparations and activities surrounding Chinese New Year. Since this is the main holiday for Chinese people around the world, it can be quite a list of "things to do." Check out our "Chinese New Year 101" post and you'll understand what I'm talking about.

Today, as I helped my family prepare for Monday's big celebration, I felt moved to pray. Throughout the world, Chinese people are engrossed in this holiday. Join me in praying through our "prayer requests" for Hong Kong and all Chinese people embarking on this new year.

Next Post (Jan. 23): I experience the temple rush when the New Year begins and learn about "honoring the dead" as part of the Chinese New Year celebration. Sign up to get story notices through our RSS feed, Twitter, or Facebook Page.

A middle-aged Chinese woman rushes up to me. She gives a big smile and then asks, “Have you eaten?”

It’s a common greeting in this Chinese culture, especially from an aunt. It’s been years since my family in America has connected with Aunt Keun Lai, but today, her warmth and friendliness makes me feel as if I’ve been around her all of my life.

Crosswalk
Kuen Lai shows her American nephew, T.Y. Po, Hong Kong with a walking tour through the shopping district.

Photo © 2012 IMB / Kelvin Joseph

She spends the day showing me, a first-generation American, around Hong Kong. We stroll down worn Nathan Road. I quickly learn that people don’t “stroll” here. Hordes of people, dressed in grays and blacks, cut in and out, bumping shoulders with everyone they pass.

Despite the hustle and bustle, there’s a special feel to the air. The normally dark, muted Hong Kong is painted to life with splashes of red and gold everywhere you look. It’s Chinese New Year. The colors of this celebration — red means bride and gold is prosperity — signify luck and happiness.

In China, they celebrate Chinese New Year with 15 days. Here in Hong Kong, they’ve condensed it down to four — with the actual New Year (and biggest celebration) starting on Jan. 23.

Aunt Keun spies a bakery on our walk and pulls me through the door adorned in red. She asks if I’d like to try a special holiday snack, pointing to some round, deep-fried biscuits. These sugar-coated circles have a design that is like a wheel within a wheel, spokes and all.

New Year Cookie
T.Y. Po holds a traditional Chinese New Year's cookie. The circle is thought to bring good luck.

Photo © 2012 IMB / Kelvin Joseph

She explains that to the Chinese, this circle is significant. It represents community and openness. She points out this is the reason most families have round dining tables.

I nod and smile at this comment because this is the exact reason I’m in Hong Kong — learning to be “open” to my cultural heritage and my God, while finding “community” with a family I do not know.

Aunt Keun is a widow and mother of two adult sons. I had hoped to meet my cousins today, but they had to work. So, it’s just the two of us awkwardly trying to get to know each other.

As we chat about our lives, she leads me through a market selling New Year’s decorations. Customers dig through piles of red banners, called chun lian (choon lee-ahn). Every doorway in Hong Kong will have one by Monday.

Each banner has a different ancient saying that speaks a blessing of prosperity, good fortune or peace over the home, business or community. This banner will hang over doors for the entire year; therefore, customers take special care in picking out just the right blessing.

Aunt Keun explains that some Chinese people don’t talk about their hopes and dreams. They fear it will float away, never to return. So they keep it inside and let these banners speak for them.

Let Peace Enter
T.Y. Po picks out a Chinese New Year’s Banner with the blessing of “Let peace come and enter this house.” Every doorway in Hong Kong will have a banner hanging by Monday.

Photo © 2012 IMB / Kelvin Joseph

Even Christians hang banners over their doors here. They use it as an opportunity to put a Christian blessing by their door and to let others know and understand they are followers of Christ.

I rummage through a pile and spot a banner that says, “Let peace come and enter this house.”

That’s what I am searching for on this journey: peace, a home and community. That’s what I’m hoping to share with my family — a peace that can only come from my Creator God.

Over coffee, I share with Aunt Keun about God giving me the strength to journey through culture and re-uniting with family.

She smiles and listens. Then, to my surprise, she opens up and speaks about her deceased husband.

“Our family misses him a lot, especially my sons. But we have to keep moving forward in life,” she shares. “We can’t dwell on the past.”

I can’t believe my ears. At this time of year, it is considered unlucky to bring up bad subjects, especially ones about death. I feel the gap slowly closing. As I understand my culture more, I understand Aunt Keun.

Today, I found “community."

Pray with me:

You can be an active part of my journey of self-discovery and ministry during Chinese New Year through your prayers. Pray that:

• Those who have experienced loss and pain, like Aunt Keun, will find healing.
• God will show me how to be intimate and open with family I barely know.
• Pray for openings for me to share Christ as I learn about my cultural heritage.

Next Post (Jan. 22): I take you on a prayer walk and learn about preparation for Chinese New Year. Sign up to get story notices through our RSS feed, Twitter, or Facebook Page.

Train stations and airports are teeming with people anxious to reunite with family over the most important holiday of the year for Chinese around the world — Chinese New Year. So many people travel during this time that it’s often called the “single greatest migration of people” on the planet.

It’s Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled into one. And like these American holidays, Chinese New Year is all about family — it’s a time to reconnect with loved ones.

This year, I’m joining the traveling masses to celebrate the holiday with my aunts, uncles and cousins in Hong Kong and inviting AsiaStories to come along for the four-day celebration.

While I’m a Chinese-American, it is my first time celebrating this holiday in my family’s “homeland.” My parents met and married in Hong Kong before moving to the United States. I was born and raised in the bayous of Louisiana, where it was easier to find an alligator in the backyard than another Chinese kid like me.

Growing up as a first-generation “American” was hard. The question of whether I was Chinese or American really butted heads and caused a cultural divide in my life. As a child, I chose to run as far as I could from my culture. I stopped speaking the language and made very few attempts to connect with family — something that is totally against Chinese culture.

The truth is, things were hard. There was the divorce that began a civil war between Mom and Dad. My siblings and I were caught in the middle of it.

Things changed when I was a teenager. I found God and my faith journey began. Some of my favorite Bible stories I heard were about risk takers. They willingly faced their fears, knowing that pain and hardship would be the cost for obeying. They discovered their own identities and fostered a deep intimacy with God. The kind of intimacy found when God becomes the “Hero.” They were changed.

I realized that somewhere along the way, I forgot my own story. I ignored the role God cast for me. He made me unique. It wasn’t long before this new faith began moving me to bridge the gap, to reconnect with my identity … to be the risk taker.

He asked me to serve Him as a two-year journeyman Christian worker in East Asia. I’m learning a lot about my Asian culture through this interaction but now He’s asked me to “step it up and make it personal.” That’s why I’m here in Hong Kong. As other Chinese spend this New Year’s celebration with family, I will do the same by visiting my extended family, many of whom have not experienced life with God.

For the next four days, my family will teach me about my cultural heritage and I will try hard to let them see Christ in my actions. AsiaStories will be with me every step, posting a new story (and asking for your help through prayer) everyday. We will walk through some traditional Chinese New Year’s activities, such as: temple life and what it means to honor my ancestors; discovering my own family’s hopes and dreams at the wishing tree and finding redemption at the family meal.

Through these experiences, I hope to get one step closer to understanding who I am, helping my family experience God and come to know the author of my own story, God.

The New Year is a time for new starts, when you shake the dust from yesterday’s steps and missteps. This is a new start for me, a first step toward having an open heart for family and rediscovering my roots. Join me on this journey.

Next Post (Jan. 21): I learn about "search for community" as part of the Chinese New Year celebration. Sign up to get story notices through our RSS feed or Facebook page.

1 Although Chinese New Year is known as a time of festivity, many Chinese Christians find it to be very stressful. They withstand pressure by non-believing family members to gamble, drink and even recant their faith in Christ. Pray that they will stand firm in the midst of opposition, reflecting His glory in ways that will draw others to salvation through Christ.

2 The world’s largest annual human migration occurs in China each year as everyone who possibly can, returns to their family home for the Lunar New Year's celebration. Pray for safety of those who are traveling. Ask that Christians headed to and from home will be aware of opportunities to share the Good News as they travel throughout the country.

3 This month millions of people in China will clean their homes from top to bottom, buy new clothes and prepare special delicacies to ring in Chinese New Year. As the most important holiday — and for many, the only annual gathering with their family — Chinese New Year affords countless opportunities for Gospel seeds to be sown. Pray that believers will boldly share their faith this holiday, and that many lost souls will find the One who makes all things new.

4 Approximately 5,000 “Hope” DVDs will be distributed by believers in one northeast China city. Pray for the safety of those involved in this outreach and many other similar projects. Ask that those who receive and view the DVDs will place their faith in Christ.

5 Many Lunar New Year's customs are followed to assure good luck: Houses are cleaned and auspicious phrases are posted. The broom is put away for a few days after the first day of the year, so as to not sweep away any good luck. The first day, at midnight, sees the welcoming of the deities of heaven and earth and worshiping them. Firecrackers are lit to ward off evil spirits. Yet these superstitions expose the fears of those who have yet to know the peace that only Christ can give. Pray!

6 Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday of the year in China. Consider Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day and the Fourth of July all rolled into one month-long event, and you will have a picture of what it is like. In the big cities, small businesses will close and construction will slow as millions, rich and poor, travel to their hometowns and villages to be with family. Pray that many millions will contemplate the meaning of life during this holiday and will discover Truth.

7 Pray that all who accepted Christ during recent Christmas outreaches will be protected from the wiles of the evil one and will stand firm in their newfound faith. Ask God to place a hedge of protection around them and hold them close during the Chinese New Year holiday.

Looking for some basic information about Chinese New Year? Look no further! Here’s a primer and some “downloadables” to get you started.

Chinese New Year is the grandest holiday of the year among Chinese people. In China, people call the holiday by the name “Spring Festival.” In most parts of China it usually doesn’t feel all that spring-like though, because the holiday falls in January or February – the date differs each year according to the lunar calendar.

To prepare for the New Year, Chinese shoppers cram into the grocery stores to stock up on food items that they will eat themselves or give as gifts. Many of the food items eaten at the New Year time have a special meaning. For example, oranges are considered a symbol of wealth, while fish are symbolic of abundance.

Plants and food items are the most popular hostess gifts during the holidays.

Wearing new clothes is a holiday tradition for all ages. Children sometimes wear the silk costumes of emperors or dress as cute animals.

Take Action:

Send a scripture card or red envelope to your Chinese friends. Printable Resources

People greet each other with “Happy New Year” or “Happy Spring Festival.” Other greetings are for success and financial gain in the coming year.

People also exchange greeting cards at Chinese New Year. People seldom send cards any other time of the year, not even at birthdays.

Visiting neighbors, long lost friends and family is important during the holiday. If an adult visits a home that has a “child” — anyone from a baby to a young, unmarried adult — the adult gives a red envelope to the child. Inside the decorative envelope is money.

Many shops are closed the first three days of the holiday while some close the entire 15 days. Schools close down for an entire month, as do many factories. Everyone who possibly can will go home for the holiday.

Homes are nearly spotless on the morning of Chinese New Year as everyone does their “spring cleaning.” However, no one cleans house on the first three days of Chinese New Year. That would be considered bad luck, as it would sweep away the potential fortunes of the coming year.

For the same reason, tradition states that a person shouldn’t wash his or her hair at the beginning of the New Year. Your good fortune could go down the drain.

On the eve of Chinese New Year, the most important activity is a family reunion dinner. Usually this is at home, but increasingly people reserve tables at nice restaurants.

At midnight on Chinese New Year’s Eve — sometimes earlier — fireworks and firecrackers start in earnest.

Traditionally, the purpose of the chaotic-sounding fireworks was meant to scare away evil spirits, thus paving the way for a blessed year. Though some Chinese still think this, modern Chinese claim the practice is just a tradition.

Recipe:

Jiaozi, a popular meat dumpling, is the traditional food eaten by northern Chinese on this day. Download Jiaozi Recipe

On New Year’s Day, people usually stay home to relax and eat traditional foods.

Some go to temples, burning incense to idols on the first day of the festival. Temples visited during the New Year may be Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian or any one of many temples built to Chinese traditional gods.

Christians worship God and pray for His blessings in the coming year at special church services.

Certain days during the 15-day holiday hold special significance. For example, on the evening of the fourth day, it is said that the “money god” returns to earth. He is welcomed by a cacophony of fireworks that is even louder than those of the Chinese New Year’s Eve extravaganza.

The last day is known both as the “Lantern Festival” and “Yuan Xiao (yew-EN-shee-ow) Festival.” It marks the end of the holiday. People light lanterns that float into the night sky or stroll through local parks that have large colorful decorative lanterns on display.

Children can make their own paper lanterns. Go here to download the lantern craft: http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/resources/

People hang a decorative red square of paper that says “blessings” or “luck” above their front doors.

Some write poetic greetings and hang them on the sides and top of the main door to their home. Written on red paper with black ink, these poems are called “dui lian.”

The customs associated with Chinese New Year are numerous and can vary slightly from region to region.

Pray that God will bless Chinese people around the world during the coming festival and the coming year. Pray that many will hear of God’s goodness and his plan of salvation.

Discover ways you can pray for Chinese people here: http://eastasianpeoples.imb.org/pray/