Lunar New Year a celebration, connection to Asian culture in Bucks County
Jen Robinson possesses a special affinity toward the Lunar New Year.
“I joke that I become a little more Chinese each year,” she said.
As a first-generation Cantonese American, the holiday offers a chance for Robinson and her family to connect with their heritage through food and tradition.
Lunar New Year, since it’s tied to the first new moon, falls sometime between mid-January and mid-February. This year, it begins on Sunday.
The holiday is celebrated by more than 2 billion people all over the world among many Asian cultures. Since the origin of Lunar New Year spans several countries — including China, Korea, Singapore and Vietnam — traditions around the holiday vary widely across each of the cultures.
Robinson, who lives in Plumstead, grew up in central New Jersey celebrating the Lunar New Year alongside her mom, who was born in Hong Kong, and her dad, a Chinese immigrant.
She always looked forward to the Lunar New Year, which in Chinese culture is celebrated over 15 days, remembering it fondly as a time of togetherness.
“As a kid, it was the time I got to spend with my family, and everyone took a pause. It was the only time of year that we did that,” said Robinson, whose parents ran a dry-cleaning business and often worked 12-hour days most of the week.
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During the New Year, they celebrated many of the Chinese holiday traditions, which included wearing and decorating with lucky colors red and gold, revering lucky number eight, eating lucky foods, and adhering to several superstitions such as steering clear of the unlucky number four, not cutting her hair or and not sweeping the house.
“You’re supposed to sweep out the bad luck before New Year’s Day, and then the assumption is you’re then left with good luck, so we don’t sweep,” she said.
Raising her two kids, Madison, 6, and Ethan, 10, with her Caucasian husband, Jonathan, in Bucks County where Asian Americans and those of Asian descent make up less than 6% of the population, Robinson always looks for opportunities to feel more connected to their Chinese heritage, which she said she typically only finds during Lunar New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival in September.
“Other than that, I don’t really see it anywhere. I’m not near any Asian grocery stores. I don’t see a lot of people who look like me normally. So, that exposure is just not there,” she said.
Holding onto — and nurturing — a strong sense of identity as an Asian American is a point of pride for Robinson, one in which she hopes to pass down to their biracial children.
“I almost feel like there’s this movement among first-generation (Asian Americans). For children of immigrants, we’re trying to hold onto our heritage, especially when we have our own children because they’re another step removed,” Robinson said.
“My kids are at an age that they’re really hungry for knowledge, so while they’re young, I want to be able to influence them with this part of their culture,” she added. “Celebrating such an important holiday to my heritage is an easy way to approach it.”
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Robinson combines some of what she experienced growing up with new traditions she’s picked up as she and her family explore the Lunar New Year together, through friends, social media, books by Asian authors and experimenting with new recipes.
“There’s not a lot my children are exposed to unless I do the legwork, but it’s great in a lot of ways because I’m learning alongside them,” Robinson said.
On the eve of Lunar New Year, the holiday is ushered in with a reunion dinner. For two weeks they prepare, so when that evening arrives, they can sit down for a feast made up of foods symbolizing prosperity, good health and good fortune.
Long noodles, representing longevity or long life, are used to make her daughter’s favorite dish, Gai See Chow Mein, which has stirred fried strips of chicken and bok choy on a bed of crispy noodles.
Other foods, like steamed fish, a whole chicken, and roast pork to symbolize prosperity, as well as wonton soup, scallion pancakes and Gok Chai, will all be part of the family’s large spread. This year, they also made bao buns decorated to look like rabbits, paying respect to 2023 representing the year of the rabbit, according to the Chinese zodiac.
“I make a Thanksgiving level of lucky foods. It’s my kids’ favorite meal of the year,” she said.
Overall, Robinson said she enjoys the closeness she experiences with her family throughout Lunar New Year.
“It’s a really unique way of feeling close to my kids,” she said. “When you think about how most people preserve and connect with their heritage, the vast majority do it through food and holidays.”
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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: A Plumstead family celebrates Chinese heritage through Lunar New Year
