Chinese New Year began this past Friday, February 12th and will last up to sixteen days. We rang in the holiday by purchasing Chinese food from Bamboo House on Fleming Road. They were extremely busy with many large orders on Friday. Bamboo House is offering take out and delivery during the pandemic and the owners are taking every precaution in dealing with the public. We were struck by the fact that their pink Christmas cactus is in full bloom. We should have asked them if they have some special secret to plan its blooming to coincide with New Year.
This year is the year of the ox. Chinese New Year festivities will culminate with the Lantern Festival. The closest lantern festival to Greensboro is the one in Reidsville at Lake Reidsville Park (630 Water Words Road). Thousands of lanterns will be set afloat and reflecting on the water. Gates open at 4:00 pm, and, if you buy tickets by today, the early bird price is 25.99 (more details here). If you are looking for a fun outdoor event with plenty of opportunities to take photos, this will be the perfect event. We don't want to celebrate our ethnic communities only on special holidays; however, holidays are the most salient, observable aspects of a culture, and a good starting point to begin to learn. Greensboro has almost 300,000 Chinese residents and the local population includes Chinese-Americans and people from mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore. Mandarin Chinese is taught at Northwest High School, Page High School, High Point Central, Ferndale Middle School, and Northwood Elementary School. (Learn more about the programs here).
Happy Monday and Happy New Year!
Very colourful!
Posted by: William Kendall | Monday, February 15, 2021 at 03:48 PM