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April 13, 2017

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Home » Opinion » Foreign Views

Having a Canadian Easter with a Chinese flavor

By Sava Hassan | 00:01 UTC+8 April 13, 2017 | Print Edition

Despite the fact that both my wife and me don’t follow any religion, we celebrate all joyous events regardless of their religious, political or racial significance.

We believe that any occasion that brings people together to rejoice in its splendor must be taken advantage of to narrow the gap of differences between fellow human beings. We celebrate Christmas, Chinese Spring Festival, Western New Year, Lantern Festival and Easter.

We have come up with our own interpretation of the event. For us, Easter signifies renewal and a chance to take some time to reflect on the differences that we made in the lives of those who share our environment, and the progress we made in our personal interaction with each other as a couple.

To combat from being caught up in a cycle of routine, we attempt to change the manner in which we celebrate the event. We blend various cultures into the celebration. This year, we decided to add a Chinese flavor to the Canadian Easter.

In Canada, people usually start their Easter Sunday by having a sumptuous breakfast that consists of muffin frittatas (a dish made from egg, milk, butter, vegetables and cheese), cheese quiches (an egg pie), pickled eggs, ham and egg casserole (baked dish of egg, vegetables and cheddar cheese). For lunch, families gather to nip on chicken, seafood, ham, egg salad, and Easter bread in which they hide a coin. The individual who gets the slice of bread with the coin is considered to be lucky.

Adults watch sports or movies, play fun games such as Charade (a guessing game in which a person draws a card and gives hints about the written words in the card by miming) or reminisce about funny experiences during previous celebrations. Kids get engaged in fun activities such as treasure hunt in which families hide chocolates among other sweets in their backyards for children to find them.

Coloring eggs is another enjoyable activity that is associated with Easter and tends to be popular among children of all ages. Schools usually hold contests the week before Easter.

My wife and I are eager to serve Chinese dishes this Easter Sunday, which falls on April 16th.

For breakfast, we will have our choice from slices of Cong You Bing (Scallion pancake, egg pancake), Sacima (or Shaqima, a fluffy strands of fried batter bound together with a stiff sugar syrup similar to rice krispies), Shaobing (a flaky baked dough pastry).

For lunch, my wife will prepare her delicious Chinese chicken wings. Noodles will also be on the menu. What would a Chinese meal be without Jiaozi (dumpling) and Baozi (steamed buns with vegetables or meat fillings)? Of course, my wife and our guests love the taste of hotpot. To be frank, I am not fond of it.

For dinner, my wife and I are accustomed to eating light dinner that consists of Youtiao (long strips of deep fried dough known as Chinese doughnut or Chinese Oil Sticks), fruits and yogurt.

Since we both are avid movie watchers, we have decided to watch Chinese movies. Of course, my wife has to do the selection because of my insufficient knowledge about Chinese cinema.

During the meals, we will satisfy our music hunger by listening to popular Chinese songs.

Hopefully, we will be able to stick to our plans of adding a Chinese flavor to the Canadian Easter, and hope that the experience will enhance the quality of our life and bring us closer to each other — heart, mind and soul.

As for my fellow foreigners who reside in China, I hope you find a nearby establishment that caters to celebrating Easter to spend the holiday with your peers. Certainly, there are many restaurants, bars and nightclubs that prepare special programs for the precious occasion.

I hope that my dear fellow Chinese, regardless of their spiritual or religious inclination, will be gracious enough to share the joys of Easter with their Christian neighbors, colleagues, students, employers or employees.

Finally, I must seize this opportunity to extend my best wishes for Easter to Chinese Christians and to my Christian expats who reside in China.

The author is a Canadian teacher in China.

Foreign Views


 

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