Winnipeggers mark Lunar New Year with tone of solemnity after deadly California shooting
CBC
The sound of firecrackers exploding on streets in Mauritius is a memory Rosanna Leung-Shing will always hold close.
Lunar New Year festivities for the Year of the Rabbit in wintry Winnipeg on Sunday will be a bit different compared to those she celebrated for most of her childhood on an island in the South Indian Ocean, but the traditions of the holiday aren't lost on Leung-Shing.
She still gifts bright red packets to friends and family. The packets, which traditionally contain money, symbolize well wishes and luck for the upcoming year.
"It's a time of joy and people go to people's homes and bring gifts, and it's celebrated in all cultures. So it's not just the Chinese culture but everybody celebrating it," she said Sunday.
Leung-Shing, who is the vice-president of Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts, also ensures pre-holiday tasks — such as extra cleaning, preparation of snacks and decorating her house, which includes putting up Chinese lanterns — are complete well ahead of celebrations.
She came to Canada at the age of 14. Now a mother of her own, Leung-Shing has tried to pass down the importance of Lunar New Year traditions to both her adult children.
LISTEN | Lunar New Year celebrations taking place in Manitoba this week:
But she worries future generations might lose touch with those traditions.
"I do have a little bit of a fear that it is going to be like any other day," Leung-Shing said.
"It's up to us to continue [spreading traditions] and making sure that we're getting together.... It's not going to be as expensive but we're still going to keep up those traditions — the red packets that we give them. That is something I hope we don't lose but I don't know."
Alex Zhou is part of a younger generation, and isn't a complete traditionalist when it comes to celebrating Lunar New Year.
The 25-year-old from China had dinner with friends on Saturday night. Since his family is back overseas, he says spending time with friends and enjoying the food are important ways to ring in the holiday.
"I don't really care about the tradition," Zhou said. "You have to do a lot of dancing ... I'm not that kind of guy."
But Bernard Phanthavong, president of the Flying Lion Dance Troupe, is excited to be dancing again.
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