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A pig's tale
Enthusiastic crowds, elaborate ceremonies ring in the year of the boar
By Joe Nguyen
nguyejos@mscd.edu

Photo by David Yost • dyost2@mscd.edu Members of the Dong Tay Hoa martial arts school perform a lion dance for a crowd as smoke lingers from fireworks at the Chinese New Year celebration Feb. 18 at the Far East Shopping Center on the corner of Alameda Avenue and Federal Boulevard in Denver.

In front of an Asian supermarket in Denver, thunderous drumbeats rumble through the air while two men inside an ornate and multicolored lion costume perform a graceful dance. A string of firecrackers explodes booming noises that resonate throughout the area. Young children sitting atop their parent’s shoulders stare in wonder at the lion’s fluid movements.

It’s New Year’s in February.

On Feb. 18, many Asians around the world celebrated the Lunar New Year. In the Chinese and Vietnamese cultures, it is regarded as the most important holiday of the year.

“It’s sort of like a Chinese Christmas,” UCD political science professor Stephen Thomas said. “You go home, you say hello to your relatives, you clear debts (and) you start over.”

Across Denver, many organizations held events to welcome the New Year. On Feb. 17, the Denver Chinese School hosted its annual Chinese New Year Celebration at Abraham Lincoln High School. The gala showcased the talents of dancers, singers and a Chinese acrobat group who elicited cheers and awe from the crowd.

The Far East Center, located on the southwest corner of Federal Boulevard and Alameda Avenue, was packed Feb. 18 as spectators gathered to witness various troupes perform lion dances and showcase an assortment of martial art forms.

“Every martial arts school has its own lion that represents the school,” Dong Tay Hoa martial arts student Quocan Nguyen said. “The lion’s supposed to bring good luck to people.”

Schools often go through months of preparation for the big day. This year, the Dong Tay Hoa troupe was forced to go through the process in a matter of weeks due to their work schedules. Regardless, the members were confident in their performance.

“We’ve only had two weeks to practice in advance,” Metro sophomore Isaiah O’Donnell said about his school’s lion dance preparation this year. O’Donnell is also a member of the Dong Tay Hoa martial arts school. “You’re always practicing, so the martial arts help out with the lion dance so you don’t really need to practice too much. The only reason why we really practice is so that everyone’s on line and coordinated.”

One group, the Shaolin Hung Mei Kung Fu Association, brought out an elaborately decorated 25-foot dragon held up by an entourage of martial artists. The behemoth overshadowed the much smaller lions, which were manned by two performers.

The deafening blasts and smoky residue of fireworks filled the shopping complex as the hundreds in attendance cheered the troupes’ performances.

“We’re glad we’re sitting over here and not over there (by the fireworks),” first-time attendee Andrea Denny said with a laugh. “We can see my mom and my brother with their fingers in their ears.”

Although the flashy festivities are the most visible aspects of the holiday, it’s the things at home that are most significant.

“To me, the most important thing is that it is about family,” director of UCD Asian American Student Services Peggy Lore said. “And so I think it’s one of the traditional values that people try to hold on to in some way.”

Families gather together for big feasts and to uphold traditions that have been passed down through the generations.

“We throw a couple parties, and we have a few Asian customs we go through every year,” Metro senior Dan Nguyen said. “The rest of the time, we hang out, gamble and drink.”

Some of the traditions include giving the older generation wishes of good luck and prosperity, and passing out small red envelopes filled with money to kids. Right before the New Year, it is expected that one be well-groomed and that one’s house be clean.

“Every year my brother calls and asks, ‘Are we supposed to take our shower on the day before or the day of?’” Lore said. “I just say, ‘Just do it. If it’s in your heart, just do it.’”

Lore said now that her brother has children of his own, he wants to hand down the traditions that were taught to him.

“But he can never remember from year to year when he’s supposed to do what,” she said.

With a new generation being born and raised in the United States, Dan Nguyen said it is important to hold on to the past.

“It’s very easy to get melded into the American culture,” he said. “Once you lose all your other ones, you become like everyone else and there’s no distinctiveness.”