Family gather for their new beginning
AFTER weeks of preparation the house has been cleaned, the new clothes snapped up and the turnip cake is cooked to perfection.
New Year in the Leung household is well underway but keeping traditions alive when you're 6,000 miles from home can be difficult.
Mum Clare Leung, aged 44, has been preparing for the Chinese New Year for several weeks with the help of her 11-year-old daughter Huelwen.
Clare and Huelwen live with Clare's parents in Carterknowle, Sheffield, and will try and replicate the festivities of their native Hong Kong as accurately as possible.
"It's difficult to get it just right," explains divorcee Clare, who came to Sheffield with her family in 1997 following the handover to China. "There's a lot of things you just can't buy in England.
"We like to have potted mandarin trees but they're difficult to find. We've been lucky this year."
Clare began her preparations by shopping for new clothes and shoes to symbolise a new beginning.
I want Sheffield to be Chinese capital of Yorkshire.
Then with the help of her father Joseph, a retired Hong Kong special branch officer, and mother Helen, Clare cleaned the family's semi from top to bottom. "A clean house brings good luck," explained Clare.
As with any celebration, food plays a significant part.
The family ate together last night to see in the New Year and this evening they'll enjoy a meal of whole chicken, shrimps, roast pork, fish and home-made sticky turnip cake.
"My parents are both good chefs to it's always really enjoyable."
Across China, New Year is celebrated in different ways. The festive food differs regionally from dumplings in the north to layered, braised dishes in rural communities and turnip cake ('loh bak go') in the south and Hong Kong.
New year cake ('neen go') is also home-baked and given to relatives as a token of love and respect. Its sticky texture symbolises cohesiveness and the hope for close family ties.
So does Clare miss the traditional Hong Kong celebrations?
"It's different here and because my brother has gone back to Hong Kong we're not all together as a family. We still visit each other in the first few days of the New Year and we still enjoy it.
"It's a special time for us. My cousins come and say 'Happy New Year'. We give small envelopes filled with money to our children. This 'lucky money' brings good fortune.
"We also put up red posters which say 'earn more money'."
The celebrations in our region's Chinese community will last for 15 days.
Sheffield's Chinese community welcomed the New Year early when various organisations staged a spectacular New Year concert on Monday at the City Hall. Clare's daughter Huelwen, who plays the chin (a traditional string instument), was among dozens of kids who performed to a packed auditorium.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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