The annual Chinese New Year celebrations in Calgary are always a fun time to dig into delectable foods, traditional performances and be surrounded by picturesque interpretations of Chinese culture. As it’s the year of the pig, expect motifs and decorations to follow this trend.
The official 2019 Chinese New Year falls on Tuesday, February 5. If you’re looking to celebrate alongside Calgary’s growing Asian population, the biggest celebration happening in the city will be at the Chinese Cultural Centre. Citizens are invited to browse exhibits, shop the markets and attend cultural performances on January 26-27 and February 2-3.
Open to people of all ages and all cultural backgrounds, the annual Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre celebrations have always been very inclusive and multicultural. It’s free to attend, although you may need to bring spare change to park nearby in one of the parking lots. This year’s Chinese New Year celebration in Calgary will feature traditional dragon and lion dances, music and dance, Chinese folk-art exhibits, martial arts demonstrations, an indoor bazaar, games and an assortment of food and drinks. With each year that passes, Chinese New Year in Calgary seems to get just a little bit bigger; this year, more than 20,000 people are expected to attend.
Calgary has long been a diverse city. According to the 2016 Census, 36.2 per cent of the city’s population belonged to a visible minority. Of those minorities, the second largest group in Calgary is the Chinese population, making up 6.8 per cent of the city’s total. For those who haven’t been, the 70,000 square foot Chinese Cultural Centre serves more than 87,000 Chinese-Canadians. Originally established in 1992, the building is modelled after the Hall of Prayers of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. Inside, you’ll find a ceiling decorated with dragons and phoenixes, gold ornamentation and various cultural materials imported from China.
Needless to say, not every Chinese-Canadian family in Calgary will be attending the New Year celebrations at the cultural centre. For some, it will be a holiday to celebrate with close family and friends at home with the following traditions:
- Celebratory Chinese foods. Across the dinner table, many Chinese families will serve a combination of pork, fish and chicken, alongside noodles, dumplings, rice and fat choy.
- Red envelopes. It’s a tradition for elders to give red envelopes with money inside to unmarried juniors on Chinese New Year.
- Firecrackers. Although you’re unlikely to see a massive display of firecrackers in Calgary on the Chinese New Year, they’re used in China to scare away any bad spirits that could compromise the coming year’s fortune.
- Ancestral veneration. The Chinese New Year is also about paying tribute to those who’ve passed away in the last year. Lighting incense, saying a prayer or visiting the graves of loved ones are central to some families’ celebrations.
Whether you’re celebrating quietly with family at home or attending events at the Chinese Cultural Centre, the Chinese New Year in Calgary looks ahead to what will be a glorious year!
