Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is a period of celebration and anticipation of the new year. Unlike American holidays, which last just one day, it is a period of around 23 days. The Lantern Festival – aka Yuanxiao – is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar and marks the end of the Spring Festival. It is traditionally a more lively celebration, complete with foods and rituals that wish good fortune into the new year. For more information on this celebration, feel free to read the reference article.On Friday, March 2nd, CCGKC enjoyed our second Chinese New Year event. Fun was had by many as they kicked off the evening by putting their brains to the test, attempting to solve riddles in both Chinese and English. There were 13 in English and 13 in Chinese. More traditional new year snacks were available (see previous article) and some adventurous folks rolled up dumpling balls for the soup. One traditional treat, called tangyuan, involves a glutinous outer dumpling shell filled with a sweet black sesame filling. We discovered how tricky these are to make, as the dumpling texture can’t be too dry and the filling can’t be too warm.
Dinner was a delightful sight for deserted stomachs. There was a spread of Asian salad, Taro dumplings, Hakka style savory dumpling soup, pork mushroom rice, fried rice cakes, and fried Azuki rice cakes, prepared by Mrs. You and family. The food was delicious and enjoyed by all.
Post-dinner activities required precision and fine motor skills. Attendees had the opportunity to put their chopstick skills to the test by putting as many peanut halves into a cup in one minute. The most achieved was 36! They also had the chance to do a beanbag toss. Prize backpacks with talismans were awarded to winners.
The evening concluded with a raffle, which has emerged the possibility of scandal* at Chinese Club events. It appears that one of our board members has rigged the raffles with magic, as she has won a raffle at every event over the past year. Or maybe she just really is that lucky, which will bode well for her in the coming year. Either way, awesome member shirts were raffled, food was enjoyed, company was appreciated, and the new year is here!
*editor’s note: there is no scandal, said board member is really just that lucky 😉 Become a member today to lessen her chances of winning next time and up yours!