Variations on Chinese New Year

by Scott Huntsman

It may appear completely foreign to almost everyone in the West， but nearly half of the world can recognize the symbol “人”， although its English counterpart “people” or “person”is likely even more widely recognized now. Similarly， Christmas is observed around the globe as the most major Western holiday， but for the majority of East Asia， the biggest celebration comes a month or so later. Also like language， culture is fluid， evolving and adapting to external influences. Christmas celebration includes globally constant traits as well as specific regional rituals， and the celebrations surrounding Chinese Lunar New Year are no different. The origins of the holiday are clear： In an agricultural society （as the country still largely is）， the end of winter and dawn of spring is the most hopeful and happy time of the year. Actually， opposite it， Christmass position in early winter was placed as such to align with winter solstice on the Roman calendar， a celebration called“Saturnalia”. Early Christians adapted to the conform with the practices of their environment. Globalization and constantly improving travel technology has made the world a smaller place， and cultural coalescence abounds like never before. Christmas trees already sparkle across Chinas metropolises in December， but for many in the West， Chinese New Year is still a meager blip on the calendar.

Like many Americans， my first impression of Chinese New Year came via images of dragon dancing in a parade on television， broadcast from San Francisco. Flipping through television channels or glancing at a picture in the newspaper around that time of year was one of the few ways the holiday ever came to anyones attention. Later， in Los Angeles， I became close-enough friends with American-born Chinese people to discover that they expected to receive money from their parents around early February， money that would come stuffed in a small red envelope with unintelligible pictographs scribbled on them.

Eventually， though， the holiday would impact me directly， professionally. As an office manager of a company involved in importing Chinese-made toys and selling them on the internet in America， I soon learned that it was next-to-impossible to order shipments of goods from China in late January and all of February， or even get anyone on the phone， for that matter. We marveled that the massive country seemed to shut down completely for an entire month while even the humblest of factory workers traveled home to spend time with their families. For most factories， the shutdown is actually only fifteen days， but many employees never show up again. Throughout the country， turnover is at its highest during this period. After taking a trip home， many choose the “new”， as is custom， and opt not to return to their job， and the effects are felt in the West.

In fact， the holidays economic impact shows in financial numbers from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The United States trade deficit with China has always been lowest in the first quarter since 2007， with roughly one third fewer goods and service being imported from China than compared to the third quarter. The third quarter， when the trade gap is largest， is when wholesalers start stocking up to supply the Western holiday season.

Economic Impact

As the new-found economic power of the the Chinese public has increased global corporate interest in the country， it wont be long before some business finds a way to capitalize on Chinese holidays， but currently few Westerners engage in any of the customary activities. In fact， as many Americans lament that traditional holidays are now little more than commercial vehicles to push spending， this specific trend is what pushes Western holidays in China while the reverse hardly happens. Although Chinese people thoroughly clean their houses and buy new clothes for the New Year， gifts to kids are usually cash， which often goes straight in the bank. Families gather to eat， watch TV， and light firecrackers. Nothing in this scenario is likely to inspire Westerners to open their wallets.

Although the influence of Chinese New Year may not be ubiquitous in mainstream Western culture yet， its impact on the international scene is still large. As culture so often does， especially Chinese culture， it adapts to its environment. Overseas Chinese communities followed their neighbors tradition of New Year Day parades and started organizing their own for Chinese New Year. Chinese parades can now be found in almost every major Western city， usually sponsored by the cities respective Chinese Chambers of Commerce. In 2009， CNN suggested that six of the“best” Chinese New Year parties could be found in Honolulu， Singapore， Hong Kong， London， and Sydney. However， the greater New York Metro area claims its five Chinatowns in Manhattan， Flushing， Queens， Brooklyn， and Sunset Park， respectively， throw some of the biggest parties in the world. In mainland China， people skip the parties and parades to spend the time with family in front of the TV， and conversely Chinese people party on Christmas Day.

Perhaps trumping every foreign celebration， however， San Franciscos Chinese New Year Parade is the quintessential symbol of overseas Chinese culture. San Francisco is known for the largest Chinese population in the West， and along with the lineage of many of its residents， its Chinese New Year parade can be traced back to the mid-19th Century and the railroad days. Today， its paper dragon dance requires 100 dancers， and in 2011， a million viewers watched the parade either in person or on television.

However， the most unexpected Chinese New Year parade is in Butte， a mountainous Montana town with a population of only 34，000. And Buttes remaining Chinese population is negligible. Although it had one of the most booming Chinatowns of the 19th Century， most of its residents fled to California due to increasing racial hostility， and only a museum remains， which sponsors the parade. Organizers claim that it is the shortest and coldest Chinese New Year parade in the world. Its paper dragon spends 364 days a year in the museum before a quick 15-minute run down an icy street.

Nationwide， the United States Postal Service has been issuing a new commemorative Chinese New Year postage stamp in each of the past six years， and plans to continue for at least six more to cover each animal on the Chinese zodiac.

Travel Time

For Westerners living in China， the late winter vacation is a chance to travel， although doing so within China can be more trouble that its worth， since its the largest annual migration of people humankind has ever witnessed. Educators enjoy the longest holiday， as is often true in the West. During the vacation， school campuses will become veritable ghost towns complete with rolling tumbleweeds， so foreign teachers almost always get away and travel. Those in the cold North lust for milder temperatures due south， but a trip within China will bring expensive and packed trains and planes， as over a billion people attempt to travel home at the same time， and upon arrival in your destination， most businesses may be closed anyway.

However， a plane ticket from Beijing to any number of nearby foreign Asian locations can be extremely affordable and lack the pressure of domestic travel. Westerners who teach in Beijing and Shanghai frequently use the break to travel to places such as the Philippines， Thailand， Vietnam and India. I traveled to the Philippines one year， and it was then that I witnessed the most widespread observance of Chinese New Year outside of China. Its not cultural– as a mostly Catholic nation with heavy Spanish and American influence， the appearance of Chinese New Year in the Philippines seems purely commercial – caused by a new heavy influx of Chinese tourists. Just a quick 2-hour flight from Taiwan and slightly longer from the mainland， the Chinese presence in the Philippines during the holiday was major. Theyre not alone： all of Southeast Asia sees a bump in tourism during the season， and the rest of them are also innovating ways to lure Chinese holiday spending.

Theres no reason not to like new excuses to celebrate and join in the happiness and hope of our global neighbors. In China， the holiday is called simply “Spring Festival”， and thats exactly what it is – and can be – throughout the world.

In the season finale of his television show Louie， American comedian Louis C.K. is so devastated by his ex-wife taking his daughters away on vacation on New Years Eve that he ends up randomly jumping on a flight from New York to Beijing to see the Yellow River. The season fades out after Louie wanders into the abode of a random rural Chinese family， whose members enthusiastically invite him to join their feast. The protagonist， an American everyman， ultimately discovers similar love and community he was missing from his own broken home， and gets it from complete strangers on the other side of the world.