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Visit Chinatown
click poster for
this Chinese New Years and Squeezed
into a tiny area of lower Manhattan, Driving Directions and Map from Scranton to Chinatown History New York City’s Chinatown, the largest Chinatown in the United States—and the site of the largest concentration of Chinese in the western hemisphere—is located on the lower east side of Manhattan. Its two square miles are loosely bounded by Kenmore and Delancey streets on the north, East and Worth streets on the south, Allen street on the east, and Broadway on the west. With a population estimated between 70,000 and 150,000, Chinatown is the favored destination point for Chinese immigrants, though in recent years the neighborhood has also become home to Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Burmese, Vietnamese, and Filipinos among others. Chinatown is born Chinese traders and sailors began trickling into the United States in the mid eighteenth century; while this population was largely transient, small numbers stayed in New York and married. Beginning in the mid nineteenth century, Chinese arrived in significant numbers, lured to the Pacific coast of the United States by the stories of “Gold Mountain” — California — during the gold rush of the 1840s and 1850s and brought by labor brokers to build the Central Pacific Railroad. Most arrived expecting to spend a few years working, thus earning enough money to return to China, build a house and marry. Chinatown Today Today’s Chinatown is a tightly-packed yet sprawling neighborhood which continues to grow rapidly despite the satellite Chinese communities flourishing in Queens. Both a tourist attraction and the home of the majority of Chinese New Yorkers, Chinatown offers visitor and resident alike hundreds of restaurants, booming fruit and fish markets and shops of knickknacks and sweets on torturously winding and overcrowded streets. Compiled from an article written by Sarah Waxman chinese new year's Feb. 5th Preparations For The New Year Preparations for New Year festivities begin well in advance of the actual date of the holiday. As the old year draws to a close, there is a tendency to want to tie up loose ends, to put things in order in anticipation of beginning the new year with a fresh start and a clean slate. In business this means balancing the books, paying off old debts and collecting on loans and charges still due. For those who cannot afford to settle accounts at this time, the pre-holiday season may be spent evading creditors. In old China, it was not uncommon for the pursuit of a debtor to last right up to New Year's Eve, when the bill collector's search might be aided by a lantern as the midnight hour approached. Although it was considered vulgar to hound a debtor on New Year's Day, this convention was circumscribed by another which allowed the creditor to pretend it was still the preceding evening by continuing to carry a lighted lantern on his chase. The safest refuges for one unable to pay a debt were to remain well hidden in one's home, or to seek asylum in a temple, often that of the city god, where propriety simply did not permit financial transactions For the individual, the close of the old year means a look back at the misfortunes of the past and an introspective examination of one's mistakes and failures. In some parts of China, people use this time just prior to the new year to seek out old friends or associates whom they may not have seen for a while, to renew friendships and talk out any problems that might be standing in the way of an amicable relationship in the future. (Visits to clog friends with whom one is on good terms are usually reserved for the first several days of the new year.) A spiritual cleansing of the old, a "good riddance" to the bad luck and negative attitudes of the past, leaves one with a bright and optimistic approach to whatever lies ahead. Domestically there is a traditional cleansing as well. In decades past, the most thorough "spring cleaning" of the year was initiated as a ritualistic sweeping away of all the evil spirits feared to be lurking in dark corners behind heavy and rarely moved pieces of furniture. Today, the only consideration for the vast majority of Chinese is a spotless presentation of one's home to the many family members and guests who will be welcomed during the holiday season. Windows are washed, or were repapered in the old days, and the courtyard gate or other wooden parts of the house might be repainted. The old agrarian calendar cites the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month as the "day for sweeping floors," and this date still marks the beginning of the major pre-holiday housecleaning projects in Hong Kong. In much of China, peasants waited until the 23rd on South China) or the 24th (in the North) to pick up broom and dust pan. It was on this day that the kitchen god, or god of the hearth, was scheduled to depart to make his report concerning household activities to the Jade Emperor in heaven. So as not to unnecessarily disturb and possibly offend him, housewives waited until he was on his way before they started moving furniture and raising dust. Sending the kitchen god off to heaven was a matter deserving special attention. In residence year-round at the hearth, where he was represented by a prominently displayed picture, or in parts of the South by beautifully calligraphed characters for his name, the kitchen god observed all the family's comings and goings. Had they been generous to any beggar at the door? Had they wasted any hard-earned food which some farmer had toiled and sweated to produce? Measures were taken to insure the kitchen god's cooperation in giving a glowing report to the Jade Emperor, and thereby winning for the family a little heavenly favor. This included ritual offerings of candies or pastries and wine, and even smearing his lips with honey to make certain that he would only have sweet things to say about the family. Once this was done, the picture of the kitchen god was torched and he was off on his yearly journey, not to return until New Year's Day. The dusting, washing, and scrubbing could then begin. Many believed they should sweep with inward strokes toward the center of the room so as not to whisk any of the family's good fortune out the door Shopping, of course, is another major activity of the holiday season. Historically, New Year's Day was practically the only day of the year when China's hard-working peasants allowed themselves to rest. Since it was everybody's day off, all purchases had to be made before shops and street vendors closed their tills on New Year's Eve. The exchange of gifts is common practice throughout China. The value of presents depends, of course, on the wealth of the purchaser and, certainly in times past, on the relative social status of giver and receiver. Very often, as is the case today, gift items were relatively expensive or specially-prepared foods. Flowers to brighten the house are a popular item in the markets at this time of year. Wax plum, fragrant white jonquils or narcissus and in Hong Kong, small peach trees, are among the seasonal favorites. So-called New Year prints were another item which for centuries were associated with the New Year festival in much of China. These colorful woodblock prints included portraits of the kitchen god, to replace the one ritually burned, and favorite scenes from old stories and legends. Auspicious ripe fruit and healthy smiling babies were often featured, and likenesses of door gods, affixed to the front gate to guard against evil spirits or ghosts, were another traditional favorite. Also sold in large quantity, for those who couldn't write their own, were couplets and single auspicious characters handwritten on bright red paper The couplets, half of each written on vertical paper banners ( duilian), would be pasted on either side of the front gate of a house, often with a complementary horizontal banner placed over the door Classically poetic in composition, the couplets would express wishes for good fortune, long life, many friends and the like. New Year's Eve By New Year's Eve, family members, some of whom may have travelled long distances to return home, gather for a reunion. In preparation for his return from heaven on New Year's Day, the new portrait of the kitchen god is hung, as are the brand new door gods, the duilian (door couplets) and any other festive decor. Some southern families place stalks of sugar cane behind the doors. The height and section-upon section construction of the sweet stalks represented the family's hope for a ladder-like ascent to new levels of glory in the coming twelve months. Everyone dresses up, preferably in new clothes, and is on best behavior Traditionally, on this last night of the year, the male head of the household led the family in making offerings to various gods of the house and to the ancestors. The ceremonies would begin by sealing the cracks around the door with red paper to prevent the last vestiges of the old year's bad luck from stealing into the house, and any of the family's good luck from escaping. Respects would be paid to the god of wealth, the gods of the well, the bed, the hearth, or any others with whom the family wanted to remain on especially good terms. The attention would then turn to the ancestors, to whom sacrifices of food would be given along with burning of incense. Each member of the family would kneel in respect before the ancestral tablets, symbols of many past generations, all the spirits of whom some families believed were in attendance that night. In wealthier households, an entire room might be devoted to use as an ancestral hall, complete with altar, while in poorer families, the ancestral tablets might occupy a modest shed in a corner. Just as important was to show respect to one's living elders. Younger family members would ketou (kowtow) to members of each generation above them in order beginning with the eldest. When children showed respect in this way, they were rewarded with red envelopes (hongbao) which contained New Year's money ( yasui qian). With the rites of ancestor "worship" complete, the family sat down to perhaps their biggest meal of the year. Often, a place was set for those members who could not return home. In a tradition still observed today, the dishes served on this evening are chosen for the significance of their names or appearances. One very common course is a whole fish, the term for which, yu, is homophonous with the word meaning surplus or abundance, and therefore auspicious. Similarly, a certain sea vegetable, facai, is homophonous with a phrase meaning to become wealthy. In the area around Guangzhou (Canton), one preferred dish is oysters, because in Cantonese, a homonym of oyster, or houxi is "good business"; shrimp, the Cantonese pronunciation of which is ha, sounds like happy laughter, and is therefore often found at such feasts. Clams are sometimes served because they open as they are cooked, signifying the opening of new horizons. Likewise, according to tradition in Shanghai, eggskin dumplings (danjiao) resemble gold ingots and cellophane noodles look like silver chains. Soy bean sprouts are similar in appearance to a traditional scepter-like art object called ruyi, which also means "to your heart's content." For Northerners, one custom still widely observed is the consumption of jiaozi, or meat-filled dumplings, at midnight., Again a case of homonyms, jiaozi also sounds like a term that means the meeting of the last hour of the old year with the first hour of the new. Sweets, nuts and pastries that most could not usually afford in abundance, might be readily available at this time of year. Sometime before the cock crowed, the head of the traditional Chinese family would unseal the front door, amidst explosions of long whips of firecrackers, throwing it open to let in the strong and healthy influences of the fresh year. In years past, few people went to bed on New Year's Eve. A modern Chinese family might stay up late taking advantage of the many special holiday programs broadcast on radio and television. Their ancestors probably passed the first hours of the dawning new year playing games, drinking wine, singing, joking and telling stories -- purposefully making it a night of merriment which they hoped would set a pattern for the entire year to come. New Year Festivities The custom of some families was to wait until the first day of the year (nian chuyi) to ceremoniously open the main gate or door. It was at this time that the male head of the house in many educated households would write auspicious characters or phrases to be hung at the entrance to the home. Some also waited for this day to approach the ancestral altar for seasonal rites, and to perform ritual ketou. Children in some households awoke the morning of New Year's Day to find hong bao (red envelopes) under their pillows. On New Year's Day and for the next several days, people still follow the custom of exchanging visits -- with close relatives first, then with distant relatives and friends. Traditionally, the order of these visits also began with the eldest, and the first day was usually devoted to paternal family relatives. One old superstition was that women shouldn't go out to visit on the first day, because the household luck might go out with them. In some areas the second day was the day wives went home to visit their natal families, taking children to see their maternal grandparents. During these New Year's visits (bainian), children and the unmarried younger generation would again receive hongbao. Some Cantonese once believed it risky to visit friends on the second day because they feared that the slightest disagreement might portend a year full of arguments. Gifts are taken to friends and relatives alike, as are hongbao for both children and servants of the house being visited. When friends visit, it is important to serve "lucky" food. One such dish is a platter of dates (zao), peanuts (huasheng), dried longans (guiyuan) and lotus seeds (lianzi). In the common Chinese linguistic practice of combining component parts of compound words to form a composite term, the dish is referred to as zaoshengguizi, or lianshengguizi , which respectively sound like phrases meaning "to soon realize the birth of noble sons," and "the continuous birth of noble sons." Peanuts are associated with fertility and longevity as well. Another "lucky" food is Yuan bao cha, a kind of tea named after silver ingots. Two popular sweets are zaogao, date cake made with ground dates added to flour, and a date filling, and a rice cake called niangao . The word for cake, gao, sounds like a term meaning "exalted" or "lofty" and when preceded by the word for year (nian),is homophonous with a term that means to advance in an upwardly mobile fashion, year by year Just as use of lucky words and actions are encouraged at this time, so are there taboos. It is important, for instance, to avoid the number "four" (si), because it sounds like the word for death; any words and their homonyms related to death, illness or bankruptcy are inauspicious. Kitchen work and sewing are avoided because use of knives, scissors, needles and other sharp objects is strictly discouraged. Traditionally, one did not pick up a broom on New Year's Day for fear of accidentally sweeping good luck out the door, and even the sight of one might portend a year full of housekeeping drudgery. compiled
from article by the Chinese Women's Institute, Chinese Markets
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for a Serenity Garden There are over 300 restaurants in Chinatown. Some are small and hidden in little alleys, some are large and exotic the majority of restaurants are along the narrow, winding Mott and Mulberry Streets, just below Canal Street
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