Chinese New Year isn’t just celebrated in Chinatown in big cities; many Chinese bring their biggest holiday to their adopted home communities, in honor of their indigenous culture. In Acton and Boxborough, the Acton Chinese Language School has made it part of their mission since 2004 to create a homelike New Year gala for hundreds of area students and families. A Chinese youth volunteer organization, “Shine-A-Light,” reaches out to the community at large by showcasing Chinese culture.
Another name for the Chinese New Year celebration is the Spring Festival, as it celebrates the beginning of an agricultural year. Traditional rituals include feasting on New Year’s Eve, cleaning house, family reunions, and rites of “ringing out the old year and ringing in the new year” or praying for prosperity and luck in the coming year. Celebrants give “lucky money” in red envelopes and perform dragon and lion dances. Festivities last for fifteen days, until the full moon of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar. The full moon celebration is called the Lantern Festival, during which families eat dessert and children go out at night, carrying paper lanterns and solving riddles written on the lanterns.
This year, the Chinese New Year fell on February 10, but celebrations in Acton began January 27 when the youth volunteers from the “Shine-A-Light” organization launched their first culture advocacy activity, at Acton Memorial Library. With parents’ support, the children presented audiences with a slideshow of cultural context and tradition, led lantern making and calligraphy, and handed out red envelopes. The interactive games and the sound of cymbals and drums accompanying a lion dance attracted many children and adults. Volunteer Joanna Dong said, “It was a wonderful experience!”
On February 3, the Acton Chinese American Civic Society (ACACS) invited local residents for a New Year’s gathering at Bellows Farm neighborhood clubhouse. Acton Boxborough United Way’s Executive Director Katie Neville and Volunteer Engagement Coordinator Maureen Ryan-Friend spoke about United Way’s mission and their community volunteering initiatives, and expressed interest in exploring opportunities to collaborate with ACACS in the future. ACACS purchased about $1200 worth of food for the Acton Community Pantry. With helping hands from Chinese student volunteers, participants packed four hundred red envelopes, which were then distributed to Maynard Open Table and to residents of senior apartments, in the spirit of the holiday tradition of sharing and giving. “We care about everyone in this community,” said one of the event organizers, Julia Xie.
The largest Chinese New Year celebration was Acton Chinese Language School’s annual gala on February 4. According to Principal Ting Chen, about four hundred people attended the event, including Massachusetts State Senator Jamie Eldridge, State Representative Simon Cataldo, and other local leaders. The celebration started at 2 p.m. and ended at 9:30 p.m. with a climactic show of original and traditional Chinese music, dance and martial arts.
“Chinese music has its own style, its unique set of instruments. Enjoying the music and dancing here brings me together with all the neighbors who share a common cultural background. I feel connected,” said one of the audience members.
Principal Ting said she and her colleagues hope to “preserve culture, create networking and partnerships, and build bonds, in the overseas Chinese community. Parents send their kids to Chinese School to learn about the Chinese language and culture, and the celebrations and performances at the New Year gala is part of the enrichment parents hope their children will remember. Ten local Chinese businesses sponsored the gala and many volunteers helped to prepare and serve a community dinner.
IMAGE: ACLS Lunar New Year Celebration. Photo credit: Wei Hua.
Dani Feng and Kaiping Fu are volunteer reporters for the Acton Exchange. They cover news about local Asian communities. Dani was an editor of a publishing press in Beijing before she came to the U.S. and she has a longtime interest in following the Chinese diaspora’s political and cultural development in the Boston area. She is currently working on research for two books about overseas Chinese’s immigration stories. Kaiping, originally from China, immigrated in 2003. She currently works as an accountant and is a dedicated mother of two. Kaiping is actively involved in community service, serving as a board member at ACACS (Acton Chinese American Civic Society) and Gates PTO.
