CULTURE
Are Non-Asian People Okay to Celebrate Chinese New Year?
Year of the Dragon is upon us
The Dragon is finally coming. It’s the only mythological creature in the Chinese horoscope and, no doubt, the most powerful and auspicious.
According to mythology, the Jade Emperor organised a race. Animals that wanted to become part of the Zodiac took part in it. The Dragon descended to participate in the competition, but due to his graceful nature, the creature was too distracted by good deeds.
During the race, the mythological creature helped a village in need, assisted other animals in dealing with obstacles and even saved the Rabbit who was in distress!.. That’s how the Dragon arrived fifth.
No wonder, the Dragon is seen as a sign of strength, divinity, benevolence and good luck. It is said that children born in the year of the Dragon will be strong, healthy and blessed by the heavens.
My family isn’t Asian, but we had the luck to be exposed to the culture. I grew up listening to Zen, my parents would read Lao Tzu and Kong Qiu, and we marvelled at the beauty of Asian art, moral standards and etiquette… We studied what we could — it wasn’t a typical thing in Eastern Europe. Resources were scarce.
Some people shook their heads in disagreement. Some said it’s not only odd but disrespectful for people like us to study or like something we could never understand. I agree — no matter how much we like or study, we will probably never understand. We can only touch the surface… Nevertheless, it’s mesmerising, it makes us wonder. And we explore it with the utmost love and respect.
The first time I properly celebrated Chinese New Year I was already an adult. Of course, Eastern Europe is rather funny about it — London has beautiful celebrations, the Trafalgar square gets occupied by festivities, dancing, the smell of delicious foods… But none of that is true for the other side of Europe. Want to celebrate? You need to dig deep.
And I mean, dig deep.
Some things — no matter how beautiful, interesting and valuable — are not easily accessible. Sometimes it’s a matter of privilege, but sometimes it’s a sociocultural problem. The Baltic region isn’t very tolerant. People are often old-fashioned and judgemental, not only they don’t accept different views, forms of expression or beliefs, but they also attack them.
No wonder Chinese New Year-related events were promoted in a way that was inaccessible to your typical Joe on the street. The West would scoff — after all, it’s a form of discrimination… But sometimes there’s no other way — cultural minorities need to be protected.
Most of the events were strictly for the Chinese communities — dinners, family events, amulet workshops, etc. One could potentially go, but chances were the language barrier would render it useless. My Asian friends strongly discouraged the idea. Instead, they invited me to join them for a New Year’s concert.
It was a kind of magic. The first time I ever saw it is still vividly etched in my mind — the memory fades, but I hold on, cherishing it.
Perhaps a European mind may find it odd or loud… massive drums in the background, gorgeous colourful dresses and fluttering fabrics of gold. It was a symphony and a sight to behold. I’ve never seen anything like this before — the choreography was flabbergasting. Dancers and singers seemed but the feathers floating, twisting and turning — the audience had little to no choice, just to feel enchanted. Unknown tones and music — live music which I never heard — were gracing us with the best energies and the best wishes for the new year to come.
I would like to focus on the concert, but no amount of words would do justice or express my emotions. It was absolutely beautiful. I suppose it felt even more special because it was something so dear, yet unfamiliar and new to me.
It was also incredibly precious how people welcomed someone from the outside. I wasn’t the only foreigner, but we were not many. Each and every one of us was warmly welcomed, respected and treated with utmost love and sincerity. I rarely feel so welcomed in my own culture, you can imagine how heartwarming and beautiful it was.
And it still is.
Every February we welcome a New Year. We wonder what the new animal will bring, whether it‘s compatible with our sign, and how should we negotiate to make it better. If we can, we try decorating the house — small little things to bring about the celebratory spirit. And we make resolutions — because no one makes serious life changes in the middle of winter!..
And if we can, we always go and see a Chinese New Year’s concert. A nice family dinner afterwards. Wishing each other a prosperous year and hoping to win favour with the new animal.
I would like to think it’s something beautiful. I would like to believe it’s not offensive and disrespectful, but rather an offering to a beautiful culture. We might not understand and we might fall short, but we still want to appreciate…
I am confident: the Dragon is bringing abundance for all of us this year.
My scribbles dive into a variety of topics. Yet whether I scribble fantasy or horror, highly opinionated or research-driven pieces, I hope it leaves you with something to ponder: makes you feel better (or worse?..), strikes an inner monologue (hopefully, voiced out in the comments!) or simply gives you something to chew on, inspiring to keep the creative ball rolling.
Thank you for reading!
