Rolland With The Punches: Chinese New Year: When Celebration Sounds Like A War Zone.

It is February 19, 2015. The morning air smells of gunpowder when I first step outside.  Every inch of concrete is covered with red confetti; remnants of the millions of brilliant explosions from the night before. It is a new day, and the first day of the New Year according to the Lunar Calendar.

Although the Chinese celebrate New Years Eve on December 31 like most of the world, it is nothing in comparison to the events I witnessed last night.

I'd heard rumors about how empty the city would become when Spring Festival arrived. (Spring Festival is the time when everyone is on holiday for Chinese New Year, not actual CNY). I was told everyone would return to their hometowns because the large majority of Chinese in Beijing are not Beijingers. Stores and restaurants close down and the city is essentially locked up. Foreigners are warned to stock up on groceries and cash (because they also don't refill the ATMs). Compared to normal Beijing, it looks like the Apocalypse came and only 500 Chinese, plus the foreigners survived. This is a city of 23-plus million people. On a daily basis there is no place in this city that doesn't have a crowd (for the most part). If you sit on the subway at any point throughout the day, it is a miracle. This week I boarded the subway at my neighborhood stop and immediately found a seat, with plenty left surrounding me. The hectic crowds of Beijng I loathe had ceased to exist. It was beautiful.

As far as decorations, atmosphere and preparation, Chinese New Year is the equivalent of Christmas in western cultures. The local stores are filled with everything red, traditional treats and gift boxes to purchase. And from every street post hangs at least two red lanterns. Chinese New Year is celebrated, however, like Western New Years, where New Year's Eve is the celebratory evening full of gatherings, feasts, toasts and of course, fireworks.

I've seen countless fireworks shows over the Red River and on Caney Lake back home, but never have I seen something so magnificent as last night.

There is a place in Beijing called Houhai and it's a popular foreigner spot that surrounds a tiny lake. It's perfectly laid out. you can ride in paddle boats or relax along the beautifully-designed concrete railings or simply enjoy the view by walking. At midnight, Houhai was to have a big fireworks show for CNY.

Jasmine, Nathan and I were coming from dinner with Jasmine's family to meet my Colombian crew. We were running a bit behind because there were no taxis to be caught so the wait was longer than normal. When we finally caved and got a black taxi, the cabby missed the turn. Anyway, we were to meet at a bar that's three minutes walking to the center of Houhai. It was 11:48 when the taxi dropped us. I ran into the bar to have a look around for them, but they were already in the center. It was now 11:53. We began walking toward Houhai and when it was 11:57 we started to run (because why not). At 11:59 we were in the center just as the fireworks began. We were literally just in time.

By some miracle, I walked straight into my Colombian friends. We drunkenly hugged and embraced each other in all the excitement, and together we admired the amazing display above us.

In a moment the sky was lit up by hundreds of fireworks. The show seemed endless. In all directions, and even further in the distance, brilliant sparks of light burst through the air. We were enchanted in the atmosphere, sounds and view which surrounded us. Everyone was all smiles. It was beautiful and nothing could bring down a high like that. For 35 minutes we all stared toward the sky with the smiles of children because the world surrounding us was so vibrant.
It was a new year... again. There is something about being in China and celebrating a traditional new year evening made it seem so much better than the semi-recent December 31st New Year's celebration. It's an astonishing feeling to celebrate something so important and significant to another culture, as an outsider. Especially when many of the people of that culture have become so important to you. It's incredible to say I celebrated the Chinese's most significant and cherished holiday in China with locals in a traditional way.

The entire evening had been a treat. Before the fireworks display, I had traditional Chinese New Year's dinner with Jasmine's family at her grandparent's apartment. Neither her parents nor her grandparents speak English. Not even a little. The evening consisted of Nathan (Jasmine's boyfriend who speaks Mandarin fluently) serving as narrator to translate everything being said to me. It was quite entertaining.

When we arrived, Jasmine's parents were already preparing the feast. I didn't learn their names because Chinese names are very difficult for me (I can barely say Jasmine's). In Chinese, father is bàbà (said kind of like bah bah but sharper). However, this version is more like saying "daddy" so most people just say bà as they get older. Mother in Chinese is māma (just as it sounds in English for the most part), For mother, Jasmine, and many others will still say māma, but can shorten to just mā I suppose. Ayi (sounds like eye-e) is the word for aunt so this is what I called Jasmine's mother. I didn't address them much throughout the night anyway since I can't speak Chinese. They would ask Jasmine or Nathan a question about me then I would tell them. It wasn't uncomfortable or odd in anyway. It was just like bringing a friend over to my own parents house except we needed a translator. Parents want to know about their children's friends and it's simple polite conversation. They asked how old my parents were and how old my grandparents were. I told them I only have one grandmother left and she is 75. I told them how close we are and showed them pictures of my parents and my grandmother. They didn't ask about my brother because I think they forget Westerners usually have at least one other sibling since in China, it's common to have a one child household. Jasmine has one aunt (her dad's sister) and she has a son which gives Jasmine one cousin. However, since she has no siblings, she calls him brother (gēge), and they are very close just like siblings.

My favorite family member was of course Jasmine's grandmother, whom you call năinai (sounds like nigh nigh in English). I have a real soft spot for the elderly. I think elderly humans are the most beautiful people in the world. Their appearances alone say so much about who they are and where they've been. Năinai is tanner than most Chinese I've seen in Beijing (remember Chinese see pale skin as a sign of money because if you are dark it means you work in the fields or hard labor). Jasmine has her high cheek bones, but the skin around năinai's cheeks hangs a bit looser and lower. Her hair is salt and pepper. When Jasmine introduced us I said in Chinese "My name is Amie." She told me I was tall and beautiful. I told her the same (minus the tall part, ha). Năinai is 83 years old. She has a lot of health issues and needs a lot of medication. This didn't stop her from pulling me through the house toward her stash of moon cakes. I thanked her and smiled as I ate the treat (although moon cakes are by far the worst of Chinese sweets I've tried.) Never refuse anything from the Chinese, especially in their home because it is considered extremely insulting. Even when I'd had all of the entrees and tried all of the dumplings, I kept eating and even had an orange for dessert when bà presented it to me.

Before leaving, I asked năinai to take a photo with me. She said to me, "You see how ugly I am, yet you still want to take a photo with me." I said, "No, you are beautiful." Meeting năinai was lovely, but made me miss my own năinai a little more than usual.

Lastly, there was Jasmine's grandfather, yéye (sounds like yeah yeah in English.) He didn't speak much, but the one thing he did was eat dinner before everyone else. He sticks to a very strict schedule of dinner at 6:30. This reminded me of my Pawpaw who himself was an impatient man. I don't think yéye was impatient, he just has to stick to the schedule because that's what the elderly do. All the same, it made me smirk at the thought of my own grandfather.
To wrap this up, I just want to say that I'm eternally grateful for all that I experienced last night. Each day I spend here I become more open to the world and to myself. I'm in a constant state of learning and pure bliss. I'm not too spiritual in the Biblical sense these days, but I came across this verse the other day and it spoke to me.
"Perhaps this is the moment for which you were created." Esther 4:14