I attended the Chinese New Year celebrations in Dickson (Canberra) in 2023 and noticed the high number of Western based people actually taking part in the celebrations – that is, the lion dancers, the people giving out red envelopes, the face painters and even some of the singers were mostly Western people. Plus, a large number of people in the crowd were also mostly Westerners – including me. This intrigues me.
I wonder how much understanding most of these people actually have about what the Chinese New Year period actually means. I acknowledge most will know what year it is (this year is the year of the rabbit), but how many will actually know what that signifies? How many Westerners actually know the full 12 year cycle, and what to do and how each animal relates to the cycle, and better yet, how to fully and properly celebrate the Chinese New Year period – and what it means for family, friends and businesses. Alternatively, do they just think the Chinese New Year is just one single day where they celebrate a different animal?
I applaud people who want to learn and understand different cultures but I am reminded of the notion that no-one, and i repeat no-one, will ever fully realise and understand another culture. They are all outsiders and will always have an outsiders viewpoint. This means that unless you are born into a culture, then you will never fully understand and never will fully be aware of the many attributes of that culture. This includes aspects relating to the actual meaning of the Chinese New Year period.
I’d like to expand on this theory – imagine taking a friend of yours for a drive through your hometown. This friend has never visited your hometown. As you drive them around, you tell them of the places where you used to hang out, where you crashed your pushbike, where you fell out of the tree, where you went to school, the shops you used to go to, where you went swimming etc. Even though you show your friend these places, they will always see them differently to you. Even driving the streets, they will SEE the streets of your hometown very differently to you – and will never have the memories and thoughts of your hometown that you have.
Experiencing a different culture is the same.
So back to the Chinese New Year celebrations – all these Westerners dressing up and enjoying Chinese New Year are having fun and it is great to see and to learn about other cultural habits, but remember, I don’t think they will ever fully understand the full and proper meaning of what the event means to those of Chinese heritage.
Thoughts…..
