Webb students celebrate Chinese New Year during the pandemic

Eric usually meets his relatives and has dinner. He had hoped to take some time to travel, but the appearance of Covid cases has since deterred that idea; Eric recalls the lovely taste of spring rolls and dumplings at those dinners. Before the festival begins, Eric cleans up the house, and sticks 春联 (chun lian), Chinese New Year decorations, onto the doors. At night his family would ha...

Hank currently lives in Beijing and will be celebrating with his family by preparing food and dumplings together; COVID-19 has not compromised his joyous time. Hank used to set off fireworks before it was banned due to pollution issues, and now has replaced that family tradition with a hike to a Buddhist temple to pray for good luck.  “Covid has helped me for Chinese New Year, as usually I would be at schoo...

Fiona is from Shenzhen, and hopefully plans to go to her grandparent’s house in Hubei province to celebrate as a family. Due to the pandemic, her trip was nearly cancelled, but fortunately, at the last minute, zero cases were reported, and she was able to keep her plane ticket. Fiona enjoys making dumplings and receiving red packets from her family.   “It is a dish called “全家福” (quan...

Daniel will be flying back to his family’s hometown in Ninghai, a small town in Zhejiang province. COVID-19 has not compromised his plans, although he will have to take a few tests before and after his trip. His favorite dish is fish, mainly because his hometown has delicious seafood. There is a Chinese proverb “年年有余” (nian nian you yu), which is tied to the dish, and it means to...

Emily is from Shanghai, but currently resides in Tustin. Emily is ecstatic to be with her family during the February break that now coincides with the Chinese New Year dates as opposed to being at school. She follows the tradition of wishing elders a happy new year to show respect, the adults giving money to children in the form of red packets, and eating her favorite 汤圆 (tang yuan), which are glutinous ...

Elizabeth is unable to have a large family gathering during Chinese New Year, as her extended family resides in Australia, and Covid restrictions advise against travelling. The government also has other suggestions to not gather at public spaces, such as malls or restaurants, so this prevents some of Elizabeth’s plans from happening. She still hopes to light fireworks just before midnight and knows ...

Teddy lives in a major city of China, Shanghai. His family is unable to travel back to his hometown due to the presence of a few cases, so he plans to eat a home cooked dinner in Shanghai. Teddy’s entire family usually comes together to make and wrap dumplings, or 饺子 (jiao zi), which has produced some fond memories over the years. He loves putting cabbage in them, as it enhances the alr...

Karen is from Shanghai and is looking forward to the extravagant New Year's Eve feast, the beloved 年夜饭 (nian ye fan). As Covid is more controlled in Shanghai, Karen’s plans are not compromised at all, she plans to eat at a nice Shanghainese restaurant with the majority of her extended family. She particularly loves 年糕 (nian gao), a dish that translates to “year cake”, sign...

Alan has lived in Zhongshan for fifteen years and will, ironically, be celebrating with his family of fifteen. He wanted to go to the U.S., but that plan was destroyed due to Covid. His grandmother contributes hugely to the cooking aspect of Chinese New Year, creating 包子 (bao zi), buns, and Chinese pancakes. It takes her almost a week before the spring festival to prepare the dumplings, which are impo...

Tiger is excited to watch fireworks, eat large meals and have family reunions during the new year, but also notes he will make time for studying and rest. 饺子 (jiao zi), dumplings, have a special place in Tiger’s family’s hearts. Cabbage dumplings create feelings of nostalgia as the elders lacked ingredients for dumplings in the past, and mainly used cabbage.  “I’m going to be watchin...

Rita has decided to eat a big dinner with her grandparents and visit other relatives over the course of the Spring Festival. Everyone in her family must stay awake until 12 a.m. to count down to the Chinese New Year. The second new year begins, dumplings are dropped into boiling water, ready to be eaten in 15 minutes. Her home city specializes in vegetarian dumplings, including radish, mushroom...