Happy New Year – Chinese Style

Celebrations will be taking place across Hull this month as the city's long-established and fast-growing Chinese community celebrates Chinese New Year.

There are more then 80 Chinese take-aways in the Hull area: Kwok Keung Wan (standing) and Chi Hung Chan, each own take-aways on Spring Bank West and Cottingham Road respectively. They are also members of Hull’s Chinese Cultural and Community Centre	The Chong Wah Chinese supermarket on Union Street (pictured on these pages) is one of several Chinese food stores in the city. All are getting ready for a busy Chinese New Year

New Moon

This month’s front cover star is Nichole Chow (25), of Newland Avenue, who works in a take-away in east Hull

Chinese New Year is a festival based on the lunar cycle – which means it starts on the first day of a new moon – and falls sometime between January 21 and February 19 each year.
This year, the New Year falls on February 7.
It is the most important event in the Chinese year and festivities will run for two weeks until February 21 with family celebrations, the cooking of traditional meals and the exchanging of gifts.
The Chinese calendar follows a 12-year pattern with each year named after an animal.
This year finds itself at the start of the cycle, the year of the rat, to be followed by the ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, chicken, dog and pig.
"We don't see the rat as a bad animal," says Luana Smith, chair of Hull's Hon Lok Senior Association in Beverley Road, which organises events for elderly Chinese residents in the city.
"We look on the rat not for its habitat but for its characteristics.
It's a clever, charming and compassionate creature which is very family orientated."

Family celebration

"Chinese New Year is a bit like Christmas, where families get together and celebrate," adds Luana.
"It's a time of year when Chinese people like to clean out their houses, and children receive small red envelopes with money inside."

Everyone included

Hull's 2,000-strong Chinese community is believed to date back to the 1920s when seamen from Hong Kong first settled in the city.
They were later followed by people from mainland China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Macau and other parts of the Chinese speaking world.
Now, more than 80 years on, new generations of Hull-born residents with Chinese heritage are living, working and prospering in the city.
Many are bilingual, fluent in English and Chinese, and they are playing an important part in Hull's economic and cultural life.
"We are all one community now, there are no barriers between us or any other people in Hull," says Shau Nan Bywater, the secretary of the Hull Chinese Cultural and Community Centre, based in Percy Street, Hull city centre.
"While we are Chinese by heritage and descent, we are also Hull people and British citizens, and for that reason we want everyone to feel they can take part in Chinese New Year celebrations and learn about our cultural traditions.
"Chinese people have really established themselves in Hull and many have been successful in business and in their professions.
"Chinese New Year is a special time for us, and it's all the more so this year as the Olympic Games will be taking place in China, which for Chinese living in Hull, still brings immense pride."

Lord Mayor of Hull, Cllr Brenda Petch and her consort, honorary alderman Brian Petch, with members of Hull’s Chinese community at The Guildhall

Cultural revolution

The community association runs the Hull and East Riding Chinese School, which is held every Sunday from 11am to 3.30pm at St Charles Primary School in Norfolk Street off Beverley Road.
Anyone can go along to learn how to speak and write Chinese, and discover more about the culture, history – which dates back more than 5,000 years - politics, and the fascinating traditions and art of China.

See the Chinese New Year show at Hull City Hall on Saturday February 9, 1-3.30pm.
Tickets priced £5 are availble in advance through Hull Box Office on 226655 and any remaining tickets will be sold on the door.
See No Kiddin' on page 33 for more on Chinese New Year.

info

For more information on the Hull Chinese Community and Cultural Centre, and the Chinese school, please telephone or send a fax to 01482 213532. Alternatively email your enquiry to shaunanbywater@hotmail.com