Chinese community welcomes Year of Water Dragon

 Experience Chinese culture at its finest today as they feast and delight worldwide in celebrating one of their most important occasions:  the welcoming of Lunar New Year, more popularly known as the Chinese New Year.

This year’s celebration marks the end of the Year of the Rabbit, to be replaced by the arrival of the Year of the Water Dragon, a mythical  animal that many Chinese reckon as powerful and will bring in good luck for the rest of the year.

Rose Chan of the Chinese Association of Saipan, an organization established in 1987, said that the dragon has had 8,000 years of rich and colorful history among the Chinese, who are believed to be descendants of the fire-breathing creature.

“Many Chinese stories tell a lot about dragons, which symbolize intelligence and power. It can fly in the sky, stand on land, stay in the ocean. It can do anything; it’s a miraculous character,” Chan told Saipan Tribune.

The high regard of Chinese on a dragon’s abilities, Chan said, is enough for them to believe that the New Year will be a better one for all.

“We’re wishing that the Year of the Water Dragon would bring CNMI and the rest of the world good health and better economy so we can all be prosperous and happy all the time and that everybody can live together peacefully,” said Chan.

Chan said the Lunar New Year festivities will not be complete without the customs and traditions of Chinese in celebrating this important occasion.

Firstly, Chan said Chinese are mostly occupied with cleaning the house and getting rid of clutter days before the New Year. “It is lucky to have a clean house before the New Year so you can have a clean start.”

Chan also said that Chinese New Year celebrations are filled with the color red, the color of Lunar New Year among Chinese as it symbolizes prosperity. “We always wear red,” said Chan, who added that she will be garbed in a traditional Chinese dress in red today.

Businessman Ta Bun Kuy, whose companies include Dollar Days, Serenity Salon & Spa, and Chow Queen Bakery, said he and his wife Nenita prepare different kinds of round fruits as they also denote good fortune.

“Another practice I do each year is to have a full rice container so that it will always remain full throughout the year,” added Ta.

Chinese New Year banquets are never complete without traditional sweets and delicacies served in round platters to signify wealth throughout the year. Chan said that each year, the Chinese Association of Saipan imports from China or Hong Kong the rice cake called tikoy, raddish cake, sesame ball, deep fried dumplings, sweetened carrots, lotus seeds, and ginger, among others, and serve them on the table.

“Sweets are served so that things will run smoothly and bring out good feelings at the start of the year,” explained Ta. “After all, people like sweets.”

Meanwhile, Chan said the sticky delicacies such as rice cakes are also a staple at a Chinese New Year feast because it is believed that doing so would bring people closer to one another, bringing about unity and harmony.

Households and business establishments are also transformed every Lunar New Year as they become adorned with lucky symbols such as tangerine leaves, red lanterns, and posters of Choy, the god of money.

Chinese New Year festivities on Saipan are highlighted by the propitious lion dance, and Chan said the Chinese Association of Saipan, which sponsors the lion dance on island, will have a full schedule today when it visits various businesses and households in hopes of a lucky year ahead.

The lion dance concludes with the giving of the red envelope-called hongbao in Mandarin and lai see in Cantonese-which contains money and is placed inside the mouth of the lion’s head.

“Most important of all is to welcome the New Year with a positive attitude,” Ta emphasized. “While we follow these customs and traditions, we should not forget that we also need to make things happen by doing something. It is never too late to do it.”

Ta also called on the community leaders to make things happen by working together. “The Year of the Rabbit was filled with challenges such as rising cost of utilities, immigration issues, and natural disasters. But I feel that this year is going to be good. If the government leaders will work together, it will actually be much better.”

Chan concurred, adding that people should remember that hope springs eternal. “Don’t give up. Always have hope-hope that this year, things will improve for all of us.”