WHY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES DISAPPEAR

Lunar New Year is one of the longest and most important celebrations for millions around the world. It is celebrated with fireworks, family reunions and feasts. But for some people it holds a special meaning. It is a chance for kids adopted from China by American families to learn more about their culture by living it. Some of those kids are adopted so young that they don’t even remember anything about their lives in China. For many parents of children adopted from China, the Chinese New Year has become a time to encourage their kids to celebrate their birth culture. The parents decorate front doors, have dumpling-making parties and stuff red envelopes with money. They clean their homes at the start of the 15-day celebration because that is what they do in China and hang red lanterns at the finish. Some other families keep it simple. They eat traditional Chinese dish dim sum with friends at a restaurant or watch dragons dancing at parades. Rich Patterson and his wife are in Vancouver, British Columbia. Chinese New Year parade there drew more than 50,000 people last year. The holiday reunites families. Pettersons take part in the parade and share dim sum with six other local families with whom they travelled to China to pick up their babies. “My kids love to hear about the Chinese Zodiac,” said Heather Mayes Gleason in Takoma Park, Md. She has a 5-yearold girl from China and a biological 3-year-old son. “With Chinese adoption, you know very little about your child’s history, but you create their future. And I guess that is really what Chinese New Year is about,” Gleason said.

Here are some Chinese traditions.

CLEANING HOUSE: Before the New Year they sweep the floors which means sweeping away any bad luck from the previous year. Children also have a hair cut and wear new clothes to represent a new beginning.

RED: The color red is very important, as Chinese people believe that it scares away evil spirits and bad luck. Gold and orange on the other hand symbolise wealth and happiness in the year to come. People put money in lucky red envelopes and give them to children.

DUMPLINGS: Crescent-shaped dumplings are eaten ahead of New Year’s Day in China.

LONG NOODLES: Chinese people believe that the longer the noodle, the longer your life will be. That means pasta is uncut and you can’t use a knife while eating it.

FIREWORKS: It is believed that the loud noise that fireworks make scares away evil spirits and bad luck.