Originally aired on YPR’s Flavors Under the Big Sky
Gung Hay Fat Choy. Wishes of Happy New Year for the Lunar New Year beginning on February 17th for the Year of the Horse. As a child growing up in the Bay Area, my family found this the largest celebration in my house. My mother spent days cleaning our home, and Dad made sure he paid all the bills. A new piece of clothing hung in our closets for each of us, one we eagerly anticipated wearing. Then Mom and Dad shopped and cooked for days.
We honored the year to come in the Cantonese fashion. On the first day of the year, we ate jai, a vegetarian dish my parents prepared the days before. The dish with wood ears, black mushrooms, hair vegetable, gingko nuts, and my dad’s fried glutinous balls finished with diced carrots and snow peas was eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In our household, we believed no knives were to be used. Cutting something on that day would mean that all good luck will be severe for the rest of the year…