Editor's Note: This is a community contributor post. The views expressed here are those of the author and not SA国际传谋 or SA国际传谋-Miami Herald News.
Happy New Year!
Yes, I鈥檓 wishing you a happy New Year way past Jan. 1. This is the time of the year when millions of people are celebrating the start of the Year of the Horse. Families have cleaned and decorated their homes from top to bottom, altars have been constructed, special New Year鈥檚 meals have been cooked and consumed. Everybody is doing whatever they can to ward away evil spirits. Traditions run deep during these celebrations. But there is one tradition I want you to break: please take 鈥淐hinese鈥� out of "Chinese New Year."
Just because more than a billion Chinese citizens celebrate the Lunar New Year doesn鈥檛 make it exclusively their own. That鈥檚 right -- it鈥檚 not "Chinese New Year," it鈥檚 the Lunar New Year.
On the same day, Vietnamese people celebrate Tet and Koreans celebrate Seo naal. So what鈥檚 the big deal? You might ask. Who cares if it鈥檚 called "Chinese" New Year?
Well, I do.
By calling it "Chinese" New Year, it reinforces the ideology that Asians fall into two categories: Chinese or something else. Inherent in this ideology is the thought that being Chinese is superior to not being Chinese.
All my life, the first question people ask me concerning my ethnicity is, 鈥淎re you Chinese?鈥� No offense to my Chinese friends and associates, but the question provokes an intense reaction from me.
So when well intentioned people wish me "happy Chinese New Year," I have to control the urge to not throw a full-on, yelling, pull-my-hair, thrashing-on- the-floor tantrum.
Yes, China has the lion鈥檚 share of Asians in the world, but that doesn鈥檛 mean they get dibs on making the Lunar New Year exclusively theirs. They can have Chinese lanterns, Chinese horoscopes and even Chinese buffets, but I say hands off the New Year.
Also, since when does a New Year have to be ethnically descriptive? When was the last time you heard someone wish another person a happy Caucasian or African-American New Year? When Jews celebrate the New Year, you鈥檒l never hear them say "happy Jew Year." People simply wish each other a happy New Year, and the same courtesy should be extended to those who celebrate the Lunar New Year. Trust me, even Chinese people, while wishing each other happy New Year leave out the 鈥淐hinese鈥� part. It鈥檚 time the rest of the world did too.
I know that change can come. I am impressed that nowadays more and more people are accepting and acknowledging different cultures and traditions. For example, more people know about Vietnamese pho and banh mi than I ever thought possible. Not long ago, sriracha hot sauce was a condiment only found in Asian restaurants and households, but now I find the iconic bottle in Target and grocery stores. Perspective and attitudes can change.
So when the Lunar New Year comes around again, don鈥檛 wish people a happy "Chinese" New Year, even if they are Chinese. Just wish everyone a happy New Year, like you would do on Jan. 1. Non-Chinese folks like myself will not only appreciate the sentiment -- we鈥檒l also appreciate the inclusion.
