The Joys of Digital Hongbaos
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My mom’s Chinese and my dad’s American. Even though I’m technically an American citizen, I’ve always considered China my home. And with this cross-culture, comes all the different holidays that are celebrated. The one holiday that has always been highlighted the most in the Chinese side of my ethnicity has been Chinese New Year. In elementary school, I would be taught in art class how to make Chinese lanterns that we could hang up, we would be taught all the Chinese New Year vocabulary in English class. In Chinese, we would learn about the Chinese lunar calendar and the different animal zodiac year rotations. In short, Chinese New Year has always been a big deal.
Our family, a mix of Chinese and American, never really go all out to celebrate, but when the time rolls around every year, we always stay in China and manage to keep a few traditions alive, such as when we make dumplings the night before Chinese New Year, and when we watch the annual Chinese New Year gala special on TV. And of course, hongbaos have also regularly made appearances during Chinese New Year celebrations, but to be perfectly honest, I’m not a huge fan of them.
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Although they are a nice gesture, I sometimes feel awkward or uncomfortable when on the receiving end of it, and it’s hard for me to know how to act when receiving one. Because of this, I find the WeChat red packet function really fun to use during Chinese New Year. I enjoy the light-hearted communication that happens over text, and I feel that it’s much easier to share part of my culture with others that don’t celebrate it as much. I especially enjoy it because it brings my family that all live in different places together. During this time of year, almost every member of the Chinese side of my family goes online, and together, we exchange words of good luck, fortune, and happiness by sending each other red packets. It gives us a great excuse to call with family, and I’m so excited to do it again this year, now that we haven’t had the opportunity to visit them because of COVID-19.
I love Chinese New Year. It’s one of the few times a year where I can get to spend great family time together and repeat yearly traditions. I always feel closer to friends and family during this time, and I’m always excited to celebrate the Chinese traditions and culture that come with living in China and being half Chinese.
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Image: Unsplash
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