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Wednesday, February 17, 2021, 09:53
Chinese in UK find ways to celebrate despite lockdown
By Bo Leung
Wednesday, February 17, 2021, 09:53 By Bo Leung

Performers entertain the crowd in Trafalgar Square during celebrations for the Chinese Lunar New Year in central London on Jan 26, 2020. (DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS / AFP)

For Emma Liu, 32, the novel coronavirus pandemic has not only disrupted her life and work, but also made her normal Spring Festival celebrations almost impossible.

With households in the United Kingdom banned from mixing during the COVID-19 national lockdown, which aims to curb the spread of the virus, Liu can only mark the festival, also known as Lunar New Year, with her immediate family.

"Lunar New Year is something I have celebrated for as long as I can remember, it is something that will definitely be missed as it is about celebrating life with loved ones and bringing in good fortune and health," said Liu, who lives in Teesside, northeast England, with her husband Simon Chan, 44, and their two children.

"I will miss being able to sit around a family table chatting and having good quality family time," Liu said.

Spring Festival celebrations in many places across the world are proving difficult this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic restricts gatherings and lockdown restrictions remain in place.

The festive period started on Friday when the Year of the Ox was ushered in and runs until the Lantern Festival, which falls on Feb 26.

There are many traditions I follow that have been passed down from generations before me. For example, it is traditional for us to clean the house in order to start the new year fresh and clean. Children and adults alike have their hair cut to get rid of old ends.

Emma Liu, a Chinese living in Teesside, northeast England

In the lead-up to Spring Festival many families clean their homes and put up decorations to bring good luck for the next 12 months.

Festivities normally start on the eve of the holiday when families gather for big traditional meals and red packets containing lucky money are given to children. The packets can also be given to children on the other days of the festival when people visit each other.

At least 430,000 ethnic Chinese live in the United Kingdom and as that diaspora has grown over the years, so have Lunar New Year festivities.

Events on hold

One of the biggest celebrations outside of Asia usually takes place in London and features a parade of dancers, entertainers and floats passing through the streets from Trafalgar Square to Chinatown. The festivities draw thousands of London residents and tourists.

Celebrations include live performances and activities in Trafalgar Square and Chinese cuisine is served in pop-up food stalls.

Manchester, in northwest England, has also become renowned for its annual dragon parade that winds through the city center.

But this year, due to UK government restrictions to control the spread of the virus, many celebrations have been canceled and Chinese and Asian communities are taking a low-key approach to the holiday and staying at home.

Liu said she was planning a traditional celebration with her husband and two sons.

"There are many traditions I follow that have been passed down from generations before me," she said. "For example, it is traditional for us to clean the house in order to start the new year fresh and clean. Children and adults alike have their hair cut to get rid of old ends."

She said they usually celebrate the beginning of Spring Festival with a large family meal at which married people and older members of the family give red packets to younger children and single members of the family.

For others celebrating the Spring Festival, social media and video calls allow them to connect with their families and loved ones, especially those far from home.

Wang Yefei and his mother celebrate the Lunar New Year in 2018. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Change of heart

Wang Yefei, 18, from Shanghai is studying at the University of Warwick and is a member of its Chinese Society. He said that the travel restrictions and COVID-19 lockdown in England made it difficult for him to be with his family in China.

"Due to COVID-19, I will be staying in the UK during Lunar New Year, just like last year when I was in London, which means I will be celebrating remotely with family again this year," he said prior to the holidays. "The real disappointing fact is that the only way to celebrate this Lunar New Year might be virtual. If that is the case, I can't be with my friends, so instead I need to find a new way to get in touch with them, potentially playing online multiplayer games."

Wang said he also has to learn how to cook a decent Spring Festival meal.

When he's in China, Spring Festival celebrations are important to his family.

"Usually, my parents invite my relatives to come to our house and they cook together," Wang said.

"While eating, we talk about our life and popular news items. Besides that, we play card games, mahjong and video games … the young children receive gifts and red packets."

ALSO READ: Xi extends Spring Festival greetings to all Chinese

Wang said before moving to the UK he didn't pay much attention to Spring Festival, but in recent years his feelings have changed.

"I feel a desire to stay with my friends and family. This year is a disaster for me as I can neither stay with my family nor see my friends. Although it is frustrating for everyone, it is worth obeying the restrictions as no one wants to get novel coronavirus," he said.

He hopes that people follow the UK government's advice so Spring Festival celebrations can return to normal next year.

Due to the current pandemic and restrictions, I will be staying at home with my partner since we won't be able to visit anyone. We will video call family and friends instead to wish them all a happy new year.

Meela Kwok, 38-year-old lawyer living in London

Home alone

Nineteen-year-old University of Warwick student Gu Yizhou, who is from Nanjing, Jiangsu province, said her family used to set off fireworks during Spring Festival celebrations until the practice was banned.

This year is the first time Gu has spent Spring Festival outside of China.

"Without any family members around me, it will be lonely and quiet," she said. "Each year I write Spring Festival couplets and give them to friends and relatives. This year I will continue writing couplets and probably stick them on the door of my school residence."

While she won't be able to visit the city's Chinatown or spend time with her friends over the holidays she is able to catch up online with her loved ones in China.

"This gives me time to have a video call with my mom and dad, my grandma, my cousins and my dog," she said, adding that she will be happy to see them sitting around the dinner table and also for her family to see that she is safe.

Meela Kwok lives in London and normally takes time off work to relax and visit family and friends. She said she's quite sad not being able to see them over the festive period, but as long as everyone is safe then there is always next year to celebrate.

In the meantime, she is making video calls and sending virtual greetings.

"Due to the current pandemic and restrictions, I will be staying at home with my partner since we won't be able to visit anyone. We will video call family and friends instead to wish them all a happy new year," the 38-year-old lawyer said before the Spring Festival holiday.

"We might treat ourselves and order some nice Chinese food as I am not as good a cook as my parents when it comes to Chinese food."

Albert Square in Manchester is decorated with red lanterns to welcome the Chinese New Year in 2015. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Jessica Meng, 19, who is studying at the University of Warwick, is from Beijing. Her celebrations with her family usually include buying Spring Festival couplets to put up on the doors the night before the Lunar New Year starts.

"The most exciting thing for me when I was a child was my parents each giving me a red envelope that had lucky money inside," she said.

Being away from her family during the festive period means Meng has to prepare all the food on her own.

She said she will definitely be eating dumplings because it is a family tradition. However, instead of making them herself she decided to buy them from Chinese or Korean stores.

"Another difference is that I probably won't be watching the New Year Gala or buying the Spring Festival couplets," she said before the Spring Festival. "For me, the existence of them carries more nostalgia and festive atmosphere than its actual content and meaning."

She said as she has lectures and seminars during Spring Festival, she will focus more on her university studies rather than celebrating it formally.

ALSO READ: Australia's Blue Mountains hit by slump in Asian holiday visitors

Time to reflect

As COVID-19 rages around the world, Spring Festival is also a time when people feel grateful for those on the front line of the fight against the pandemic.

Meng said she sympathized with people who cannot go home during Spring Festival because of their jobs or personal circumstances. "I have great respect for doctors and nurses who chose to stay at work for the welfare of the Chinese people last year when COVID-19 hit severely," she said.

While the pandemic has changed almost everything, it has not altered people's joy at being with family.

Melissa Phung, 38, who owns a food business in the northeast of England, had a quiet Lunar New Year compared to previous years with her husband and their two daughters.

"Normally we have a few big family gatherings with the traditional 10 dishes. Siblings return home and we also hand out red packets for the children," she said. "It is always a very happy time."

The local Chinese community usually celebrates with singing, dancing, food, raffles, firecrackers and dragon and lion dances, which unfortunately have been canceled this year due to COVID-19.

READ MORE: Spring Festival Gala draws record viewership

"This year it will be a quiet meal at home, maybe a few doorstep visits to handout red packets," she said before the festival. "The elders will still make some of the traditional pastries and dishes but it has been extra difficult this year to get ingredients."

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