Last weekend I experienced being in the
right place at the right time. There’s no shortage of excitement and cultural
history living in a big city, so it’s easy to stumble upon something new. You
just have to be aware. And that means
putting down your mobile devices to be present and enjoy
your surroundings.
What I happened upon was an important
part of the Chinese New Year festivities. Having just finished lunch (Pho) and
shopping at the Vietnamese market, I was greeted with a display of fireworks
and dancing dragons. You can check out
this Vine video I made of the event!
Warding off evil spirits vine.co/v/brVdlgamXQP
— Chloe Rada (@crada) February 17, 2013
While the Chinese New Year is the
most important of the traditional Chinese holidays, it is celebrated in other
countries like Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Celebrations start on first day of the Lunar New Year and last 15 days making
it the longest festival in the Chinese calendar and the biggest time for family
reunions. In Vietnam, it’s called Tết Nguyên Đán.
I learned that day that fireworks help
ward off evil spirts, while dancing dragons bring good fortune throughout the
year. It’s experiences like this that create community, and just by being present I got to share in this
tradition with a group of strangers, spreading
hope for a new beginning.
This
proves how culture is all around us. It’s just a matter of finding it. One of greatest joys I have in my role with
Sodexo is the exposure to the different types of culture that thrive
among our employees. Perhaps if I wasn’t afforded our heritage month
celebrations and the opportunity to share them with you, I may have missed out on
learning how cultural experiences create community too.
Tell us about the culture around you? How does it influence you?
No comments:
Post a Comment