Why I celebrate The Chinese New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

What? Oh, it's February? I know, I even wrote a post in early January about the New Year but it's the CHINESE NEW YEAR.

I'm not even Chinese, but I'm celebrating it in certain ways.  Every year, I have people question me on why I would "celebrate some Asian thing when I'm an American in America".  Why?  Because of the cultural identity that I developed as a military child.

By blood, there is no Chinese heritage in me at all.  I'm Eastern European from my dad's site, and Pacific Islander from my mom's side.  I have some Chinese family that married into the extended family, but that's not the case on why I celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Growing up overseas in Japan with the military, I had the wonderful opportunity to be immersed in various cultures.  Not just off-base in the hosting country, but even on-base in the melting pot of a community.

First off, it's important to know that overseas military bases are not like the average American town at all.  There are not many elderly people, everyone is rather fit for combat, the children are almost all military dependents, families/personnel move in and out of the station every couple of years or so, and no one owns a house.  It's a different atmosphere.

Inside the gates on-base, there was so much diversity.  Military families are very unique - some Marines were from a small town in the US, and some were originally from a different country that joined the service to acquire US Citizenship.  Some Marines had a spouse member that was from a different country, whom they fell in love with while in service to another country.

Whether it was through marriage or through service, the military attracted a wide array of people and cultures.  Growing up, I remember potluck events in community spaces were one of the coolest things to look forward to because of the neat dishes people would bring.  Not to mention, all the friends from on-base got together in one place!  My plate would have Fried Chicken, Pancit, Rice Balls, Calamari, Kimchi, Fish Pancakes, Foie Gras, Steamed Dumplings, and more.  So much culture fusion...  this is the exact reason why I love trying new foods now - or "un-American" foods in the words of ignorance.  I should be on food network for those wacky food challenges.

Birthday parties were fun too.  Aside from a bouncy house paired with cake and ice cream, sometimes the mom or dad would add birthday traditions from their culture or home country.  Shich-Go-San, or 7-5-3 is a unique Japanese tradition celebrated on the 7th, 5th, and 3rd birthdays and I remember partaking it in that in 2nd grade.  I celebrated a Japanese tradition without being Japanese.  Going to a Quinceanera party without any Lain American background was normal to me.  A longtime Hispanic family friend planned a Quinceanera for me, and I celebrated a coming of age ceremony in Japan when I turned 20.  On New Year's, I got Otoshidama Envelopes from family friends, and on the Lunar New Year I got Red Envelopes and rice cakes from friends.  I LOVED partaking in other cultural celebrations, it didn't matter what I believed in or what I practiced.  We just kind of... all celebrated and enjoyed life together.

If we walked off base, there was a whole different world out there.  The Japanese are some of the most polite people I have ever encountered and they loved sharing their culture and tradition with others.  "You never had a Buddhist Monk read you your fortune?  Please, join my family the next time we go to the temple!"  In addition, they have a lot of similar traditions or cultural relations to China and other parts of Asia.  Much of their Kanji, or "Chinese Characters " is adopted from the Chinese writing.  Chinese Zodiac is pretty prominent in Japan as well, since images of the horse ran rampant in New Year's Greetings, Temples, and more.  I have Japanese friends that send me year of the horse good luck charms - and I certainly don't practice Shinto Religion.

So why do I celebrate a holiday that has absolutely nothing to do with my culture?

Because I enjoy it.  I want to celebrate something I enjoyed growing up, and because I can.

It's as simple as that.  I grew up in a place that showed me human beings are human beings.  I grew up in a place that showed me different cultures, including their pros and cons.  No one questioned the color of your skin, or the religion you practiced.  Everyone had a sense of camaraderie, and where you came from didn't matter because we all knew that we were human beings deep down.  We all fought for freedom: active duty or as a family member - we saw that we were the same beneath it all.  We didn't have time to question someone's culture or beliefs.  We meshed together in one big melting pot and we were happy.

So what if I'm not Chinese, Japanese, German, or Hindu?  I'm sure the average American celebrates Oktoberfest and I know I'm not the only person that loves yoga.

Why not celebrate something that's fun?  I love to have fun and celebrate - regardless of the culture.  I love cultural adaptations!
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Take a step outside your comfort zone, and try something new.  One of my favorite proverbs is "井の中の蛙、大海を知らず " which means "The frog in the well does not know of the ocean" - you're missing out by spending time questioning why someone enjoys something that doesn't belong to their "culture".

Cheers,

XOXO