In this op-ed, Kathleen Lew, Programming and Research Coordinator, Myseum of Toronto, reflects on past Lunar New Years and how her perspective has evolved through learning about the experiences of others.
For as long as I can remember, my Lunar New Year has been quite simple—lunch with my extended family at a Chinese restaurant. A meeting place, somewhere between our multiple homes, to catch up on news and exchange red envelopes. Lately, this has been a Dim Sum restaurant in Hamilton, Ontario.
As I reflect more deeply on celebrating the Lunar New Year, a simple lunch has culinary threads that trace back to my ancestors. Despite the new year signaling the transition into Spring, my paternal grandparents experienced it in the dead of Manitoba winter. They ran the Rex Cafe in Glenboro, a restaurant that served Chinese food in the middle of farm country. My great-grandfather bought the building in the early 1920s after immigrating to British Columbia from China, and eventually settling in Manitoba.
According to my Dad, my grandparents used the Lunar New Year as an opportunity to have a large family meal (usually a chicken), or drive into Winnipeg to wish their friends good fortune. When my Dad and his oldest brother moved to Ontario and had children of their own, they began the current lunch tradition. As a young child, this occasionally included driving to Chinese strip malls in Markham to see the dragon dance.
To remember past Lunar New Years, I have a box of red envelopes. Once full of lucky money, I have kept every envelope I received from my Dad and Uncle for the Lunar New Year. Some feature animals of the Chinese zodiac, while others have intricate designs or messages of well wishes.
After having the privilege of working with the Quarantine Qapsule team on a project to create a community archive of Asian Canadian stories during COVID-19, I have realized the potential of my humble collection of envelopes. It is my own exercise of self-narrated documentation, a glimpse into my daily life in the form of a personal archive.
With that being said, my new year traditions are singular among many. As the Quarantine Qapsule so beautifully highlights, preserving and sharing our stories is as important as ever. While Lunar New Year celebrations will look different this year, I hope we all find comfort in the value of our own histories.
I invite you to take a moment to read and enjoy the reflections by Quarantine Qapsule artists below. Whether you celebrate the Lunar New Year or not, this is a perfect time to learn more about the experiences of Asian Canadians through artistic expression.
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Kathleen Lew is an arts and museum professional based in Toronto. She has a Master of Museum Studies degree from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Arts with Honours (History; Art History) from Queen’s University. Kathleen has worked on a variety of curatorial and visitor research projects including collaborations with Our Stories Our Truths and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Toronto (MOCA). She also has extensive experience engaging youth through the arts at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre and Centauri Arts. In addition to working at Myseum, Kathleen leads public tours at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and is a member of Toronto’s Feminist Art Collective (FAC).
Feature image credit: Wong Toy Jin (Jean Lumb) was born in Nanaimo, BC, in 1919. Her grandfather, a farmer from China, came to Canada in the 1880s during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. (From Jean Lumb Collection).
