For me... well let's just say I love the Asian custom of drinking your soup!
At first I was feeling guilty for not having a big celebration for my kids to celebrate their Asian Heritage. For my children's first Chinese New Year away from their homeland we were going to follow all of the ancient traditions. I was going to Dress them up in their Chinese Silks and take a picture (I still may do that tomorrow.) I was also going to cook 'long noodles' (representing a long life) for dinner followed by eating mandarin oranges (for a sweet year). We were going to sweep the floors (to sweep out the old year and welcome the new) and light some sparklers (to scare away bad feelings). We were going to draw the Chinese Lion and Dragon who bring good luck, wisdom, and happiness.
Those were my plans...
and then I became a Mom!
I have let the guilt slip away. I have come to realize that even though I kind of botched Lunar New Years I am a good mom of my Asian kids. They wear their silks around the house for fun. We ate long noodles two nights ago. They both average 2-3 oranges a day. They aren't big on sweeping but they do help clean. We play with sparklers (from time to time) and they absolutely love the movie "How to Train Your Dragon" (that counts right?) For now we do these things and often read "Lucky New Year" by Mary Man-Kong which explains all of these traditions and more.
While they may not have the big celebration once a year, I believe they are still learning and holding on to the truth of who they are and where they have come from.
My kids are Asian.
I am a Mom.
Those are my plans.
3 comments:
Sounds like a great plan to me. Obviously, they enjoyed their New Year's meal. The Asian market seems to have great dumplings.
I didn't have to make a special effort to sweep my floors for CNY. With three kids and a dog, I sweep several times a day anyway...
And at least you have the courage to brave the Asian market. I got our dumpling supplies at Food Lion. :)
Cause the market, well, it intimidates me!
Our Asia Mart is like a trip right back to China, smells and all. I bought the dumpling wrappers, but that's as far as I've gotten.
And you're not a good mom, you're a GREAT mom! You can see it in the way those eyes sparkle in both your kids!
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