Chinese New Year Memories of Vera Koo

Vera Koo describes her life as a child in China, celebrating the Chinese New Year. She continues to practice time-honored traditions to this day, in her home in the US. Read more in this post, written by Michelle Cerino and originally published at 《女性户外新闻》.

While chatting on the phone with Vera, I asked her if she celebrated Chinese New Year, which begins this year on February 17th. As she began sharing her memories, I could hear her smile in her voice. Having only celebrated it myself by cooking homemade potstickers, fried rice and egg rolls with my cousin and her family, I found Vera’s version very interesting, and I think you will, too. 

Chinese New Year in Hong Kong

Vera’s voice changed when she began speaking of celebrating Chinese New Year in Hong Kong. Even though she only lived there until the age of three, I could tell these were very fond memories. Below, Vera recounts her memories of Chinese New Year.

Prepping for Chinese New Year

When I was a kid in Hong Kong, Chinese New Year was a very exciting event for me because I knew something exciting and different was going to happen. I spent a lot of time looking out the windows of our third-floor apartment and reading comic books. First, all the Chinese have to clean their entire house, every nook and cranny, by the end of New Year’s Eve. So my mom and her maid spent the week before cleaning, making sure the entire house was spotless. When not cleaning, she also bought and prepared certain foods specific to the celebration. I remember there were a variety of dishes to prepare before New Year’s Day. Besides the cooking and cleaning, my mom also made sure all the kids had new clothes and shoes, which was very exciting. We also had to all bathe and wash our hair before the end of the day. Yes, the house and everyone inside had to be clean.

The Celebration

We had to get up at 5 o’clock in the morning, get dressed and then the maid would comb and braid my hair. People began arriving very early, around 6 a.m. Since my father was the right-hand man of a trading company, his subordinates visited him, wishing him happiness, good fortune and good health. They all gave each kid a red envelope filled with coins. My mom would have a large partitioned tray of different snacks and candies for the guests to enjoy. My dad also visited different homes to do his share of bidding and good wishes to others. Later in the day, we enjoyed the delicious food my mom prepared. It was all very exciting for us kids.

Chinese New Year was always fun. Since nobody went to work, my mom and dad were both home. There were fireworks everywhere. I would watch out my window as people lit their firecrackers and celebrated. 

Chinese New Year In the US

Just as many daughters do, I follow my mother’s tradition. Since red is such an important color for Chinese New Year, I plant red cyclamens in our yard’s planters. The kids all received new clothes and shoes. They had to look spiffy. I also made sure all the good luck food was prepared the night before. Fish is a very important dish; we freeze a portion of it for the next year as a symbol of surplus and plenty. We also eat Fat Choy (black moss), a hair-like fungus whose name itself means luck and prosperity. Potstickers are also an important dish because they resemble the shape of Chinese money (Yuanbao) from thousands of years ago. And Tangyuan, which symbolizes family togetherness, is a round rice ball filled with a sweet filling. My mom used to wake me up in the morning and say, “Tuántuán yuányuán,” which means group-group round-round or happy, harmonious reunion. And of course, my favorite … sweets. We want a sweet year filled with good fortune, good health and happiness. All that is repeated throughout the first week of the new year.

I also have my own tradition to honor Carlos’s family. I place framed photos of his parents in the middle of our dining room table, surrounded by flowers, fruit, candies and incense, on Chinese New Year’s Eve, and leave them there for the entire New Year’s celebration. On New Year’s Day, I kneel on the floor and, while holding incense in my hand, bow, touching my forehead to the ground three times. 

An Inspiration

I have always tried to include family traditions during the holidays. Sometimes, though, I wonder if it’s worth it to continue. After listening to Vera share her memories, I now know I need to keep the traditions alive, in hopes that my children will continue them with their families. I also want to up my game for our Chinese New Year dinner, although the cleaning may not be part of it.

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