Lunar New Year celebrations begin with an 'oink, oink' in Vaughan

500 people expected to take part in today's celebration at Vaughan City Hall

Yorkregion.com
Feb 3, 2019
Jeremy Grimaldi

Communities of all stripes from across York Region took part in Chinese Lunar New Year events on Feb. 3 enjoying food and cultural games at Vaughan City Hall.

Some of the events for onlookers included Chinese calligraphy and button making, using the symbol of the pig, the 2019 lunar zodiac that stands for fortune and personality.

Coun. Sandra Yeung Racco said she was expecting some 500 people to walk through the doors of the celebration, which for the first year involved the Vietnamese Cultural Group in organizing the event.

Although the actual New Year takes place on Tuesday, residents wanting to get an early jump on the party could taste a variety of Chinese dim sum, watch one of Canada's top Chinese food chefs, take part in mediation and energy healing workshops or take in a variety of entertainment.

Yeung-Racco said the 15-day festivities isn't just one long party, it also includes traditions like  thoroughly cleaning one’s house to bring good luck and exchanging red money envelopes to encourage prosperity. She said it was a time to welcome new beginnings, fortune and well-being.

"We're a very family orientated culture," Yeung-Racco said. "So in China people get two or three weeks off so they can go visit everyone, this is the busiest travel time in China."

Unlike Western New Year, the Chinese calendar is 13 months and changes each year, meaning the New Year celebrations can occur on many different days throughout January and February Yeung-Racco said.

"It is said that (the pig) embodies affability, camaraderie and affluence," said Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua. "These are important characteristics that can help guide all of us toward having a promising year ahead. Lunar New Year is a reminder of how diversity is truly one of our greatest strengths."