Saipan Chinese community celebrates Lunar New Year

Saipan Apparel’s Peter Sablan and his children and wife, Michelle, are presented with a “good luck” scroll after the Chinese Association of Saipan performed the traditional lion dance at the company’s location in San Antonio. (Jayson Camacho)

Saipan’s Chinese community welcomed the Lunar New Year and the Year of the Goat (Sheep or Ram) yesterday with the traditional lion dance in different establishments around the island.

Dressed in vivid colors of gold and yellow, more than 10 members of the Chinese Association of Saipan visited over 20 businesses yesterday to perform the traditional lion dance, which is supposed to bring good luck and fortune in the new year.

The dance they performed was called the Chinese Southern Lion Dance that originated in Guangdong, China.

For 13 straight hours, members danced their way into different establishments to supposedly ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. At the end of the dance, a traditional Chinese scroll is presented to the owner for luck.

The dance started bright and early at 8am at the TSL Plaza and TakeCare/FHP. They moved on to Century Hotel, JP Center, TransAmerica, Saipan Apparel, POI, RMS, Saipan International School, Hyatt Regency Saipan, NIC Health Center, and 9922 store in Garapan for the entire morning.

In the afternoon the dancers performed at Canton Restaurant, Majesty Restaurant, Kanoa Resort, Century Tours, 880 Duty Free, Club C, IT&E, Subway, CTSI, D&Q, Cosmos, Louis Vuitton at T Galleria, Sun Leader Market, Dollar Days, and Micro Beach Hotel.

In the evening the lion dancers performed at Fiesta Resort and Spa Saipan, Saipan Adventure, IShop, again at the Hyatt Regency Saipan, I Love Saipan, Street Market at the Garapan Fishing Base, Duty Free/T-Galleria, and Saipan World Resort.

Chinese Association of Saipan director Rose Chan said that during the dance, the “lion” is fed with lettuce or cabbage—called the traditional custom of “cai qing”—and is presented with red envelopes that contain money. At the end of every performance, participants bow and a scroll is given to the host establishment.

Chan said the association will be hosting a dinner tomorrow, Saturday, at the Fiesta Resort and Spa for their Lunar New Year party.

The night before, at the stroke of midnight, many of the Chinese businesses on the island put on fireworks displays, supposedly to drive away the bad spirits of the previous year. Most Chinese businesses were also closed on the eve of the Lunar New Year.

Barcode owner Bruce Lee said that traditionally on Lunar New Year’s Eve they would get together with family to cook and eating together.

“We’re having dinner right now to celebrate for the New Year and it is tradition,” Lee said.

Nancy McDowell, Hyatt Regency sales manager, said the usual tradition in their family would have them eat dumplings at midnight.

Another who owns a store near Paseo de Marianas said his family cooked the whole day on the eve of Lunar New Year because in Chinese custom it is considered bad luck to cook anything with knives so all the food to be consumed is cooked days before.

“Celebrating New Year on Saipan for a long time is good prosperity for the whole CNMI,” said Chinese newspaper publisher Betty Bai.