新年快樂 (xin nian kuai le), or Happy New Year! Although we would have loved to explore more of Vietnam it was more important to return to Taiwan to celebrate the new lunar year with my family. This was the first time of my life ringing in the new year with my family here, so I was really looking forward to it. You will also notice that with the new year I’m changing up the format of the blog a bit. Rather than posting all of the photos at the end I’m going to include them as I go…I think it flows better.
In the weeks leading up to Lunar New Year, February 16th, the energy gets ramped up as people dash around buying food to prepare new year dishes, do a massive spring cleaning of their homes and line up at banks to get crisp, new bills to put into hong bao, or red envelopes. One of the most popular areas where locals go to stock up on new year wares happens to be one of my favorite areas in Taipei called Dadaocheng. Its main street, Dihua St, is lined with traditional Taiwanese shops selling Chinese medicine, tea, grains and any dried food you can imagine. I love feeling how I’ve stepped back in time when I meander down the narrow alleys amidst the historical buildings with architectural influences from different countries and time periods.
This is where I come to buy dried scallops and shitake mushrooms, grab a liter of freshly squeezed orange juice with a squeeze of Taiwanese lemon (a cross between a lemon and lime) from the famous OJ guy, Mr. Lin, and pick up traditional Chinese rice pastries scented with osmanthus flowers and filled with sesame or red bean paste at Hoshing 1947. If I need a break, then I pop into Doorway Cafe for a replenishing lunch of ‘Mama’s Curry.’
But, I digress. The new year craze is infectious, and it’s such a rush being guided along by the crowds, getting wafts of incense, listening to the bargaining of prices and shouting of wishes for a prosperous new year. New Year’s Eve is a super important occasion where family members all reunite for a big meal and dishes have significance in content and/or name as symbols of happiness, prosperity and good fortune. This year, we celebrated New Year’s Eve at the Naval Officer’s Club where my Uncle Francis is a lifelong member. Besides my mother, the entire Lee family was present: Uncle Francis and his wife, Uncle Miller and Aunt Alice, Aunt Ivy, cousin Jake and cousin Jeff and his wife, Vivian. I haven’t seen my cousin Jeff since I was a child, so this was a certainly a happy surprise, and I was immediately taken by the warm and friendly energy of his wife, Vivian. Lobster, jellyfish salad and braised pork shank were just a few of the decadent dishes brought out that night. The meal ended with one of my favorite desserts of all time, babaofan (eight treasure pudding). Eight is a lucky number in Chinese, because its pronunciation (ba) rhymes with fa, a word that means ‘to make a lot of money.’ The steamed glutinous rice laden with lotus nuts, raisins, longans, etc. and a red bean paste filling was a luxurious and sweet way to begin the new year.
After dinner, we made our way to one of Taipei’s most famous temples, 行天宮 (Xingtian Temple). The new year is one of the busiest times for the temples as people pray for good tidings and seek spiritual guidance for the new year. None of us are religious, but my grandma used to take me to temple when I visited as a child, and Jules was curious, so off we went. The crowds weren’t due until midnight, so we had a relaxed stroll in the temple. Surprisingly, Jules said he wanted to 拜拜 (bai bai), or pay his respects to the deities inside, so we waited while he worshipped properly, kowtowing and all. I reminded him that the deities weren’t Santa Claus, and he shouldn’t pray for presents. “I know, mommy. I prayed that our family would all be healthy.” Hmm, strike the Santa Claus comment from the records, please.
New Year’s Day should be called ‘Give your kid whatever they want’ day, since Taiwanese people feel that conflict should be avoided at all costs on the first day of the new year. Therefore, kids are given free reign during the day. Jules woke up to a breakfast of pancakes and spent the homework-less day playing basketball and Legos. In the evening, the Lee family gathered for yet another incredible food fest. After bowing and giving auspicious greetings, Jules was rewarded with more red envelopes.
Although we all had a wonderful and delicious time, I felt the absence of my grandparents more acutely this year than any other. Aunt Ivy showed me a picture of them from almost 60 years ago during dinner, and it made me miss the times when all of us would squeeze together and gather around the small table in the living room of my grandparents’ house for a home cooked meal made in the kitchen in the alley alongside the house. My Taiwanese friends who grew up in Taiwan laugh at my old-fashioned Taiwanese ways, especially since I was raised in the States. Maybe it’s just my way of holding onto a piece of my family’s history and tradition.
2018 is Year of the Dog, an animal which symbolizes luck. We hope that this year brings good health, good fortune and prosperity to all of our friends and family.
