Family, food and fun
T’VILLE BUL
NOTES:
Thursday in focus / opinion / around the world
Chinese New Year celebrated across many ethnic cultures
Thu, Jan 22, 09
Family, food and fun
T’VILLE BUL Ed: Unit: Regn 14 Couple: Colour:
FOOD is at the heart of just about all celebrations in Asian culture. So it’s no surprise that Chinese New Year — one of the most important and widely celebrated festivals on the Asian calendar — comes with its own gastronomic centrepiece: the Chinese New Year banquet. Traditionally held on the evening before the lunar new year (January 25 this year), the Chinese New Year banquet is regarded as a central part of festival celebrations. Angeline Oyang from the Chinese Heritage Association of Australia says the tradition started in rural communities in China where peasants usually ate from hand to mouth. A banquet was a rarity reserved for special occasions like weddings and festivals. ‘‘Chinese New Year is a (celebration of) the coming of spring and giving people a hope for a better future,’’ she explains. Over the years, the custom of the banquet has spread to other countries where Chinese traditions are observed, including Australia. Also known as the family reunion dinner, all generations of the family unit sit at the table and to enjoy the feast together. ‘‘The whole family eats together and no one will eat before everyone is there. Those who cannot make it will have their places set up to denote their presence,’’ Ms Oyang says. ‘‘The meal has to be eaten slowly and everyone has to taste every dish, to get its auspicious meaning and blessing.’’ The dishes customarily served as part of the banquet are chosen for their symbolic meaning. The traditional ‘must have’ dishes at the new year’s eve dinner include oysters for good fortune, mustard greens for longevity and fish for abundance. TV personality Dr Cindy Pan, an ambassador for the City of Sydney’s Chinese New Year Festival, says there are no hard and fast rules on how to celebrate the Chinese New Year festival. ‘‘The most important thing is to get together with family and friends to share a meal,’’ she says.
Food for thought DISHES traditionally served as part of the Chinese New Year banquet are those with auspicious and symbolic meanings, including food with names in Chinese that rhyme with wealth, health and longevity.
Workers prepare ‘jiaozi’ (Chinese dumpling)
Fish, signifying surplus and abundance, is always served at the New Year’s Eve dinner. It must be served whole, with head and tail intact, and cannot be eaten completely, as leftovers bring prosperity for the coming year. In the northern parts of China, dumplings are traditionally eaten at the start of the new year. These are filled with coins, dates or sweets and peanuts. Depending on which of these are found in the dumpling by the person eating, they will be blessed with financial windfall, sweet days or good health respectively.
FINE FARE . . . a shopkeeper arranges oranges Unlike most other festivals, there is no need to do this all on the one day: Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally run for a 15-day period. The timing of the festival — which falls shortly after Christmas and the start of the gregorian New Year on January 1 — also has its advantages. ‘‘If there’s anyone you missed out on visiting (then), don’t worry — you
Customers shop for wax duck
can make up for it at Chinese New Year,’’ Dr Pan said.
alike and festival activities have grown in choice over recent years.
Dr Pan says Chinese New Year is an all-inclusive occasion, one unattached to any religion and not just for the Chinese.
The City of Sydney is running a Chinese New Year Festival, the largest celebration of its kind outside Asia, with events ranging from dragonboat races and cooking shows to Chinese high tea sessions.
In cities across Australia, celebrations are embraced by the Asian and non-Asian communities
‘‘Really, it’s all about family, friends and food,’’ Dr Pan says.
In the southern parts of China, traditional dishes include oysters, which rhyme with good fortune and the ‘hair fungus’ mushroom, which signifies a windfall of money. Traditional Chinese households will bribe their kitchen gods — responsible for reporting to the emperor of the gods on the household activities of the past year — with sweet offerings.
K C MY
Hark, the dogs are barking from beyond the grave
Page: 14
AUSTRALIANS are seeking the services of animal psychics to understand their pets’ behaviour and make contact with their beloved Moggie or Rex from beyond the grave. From the tale of Dr Dolittle to the 1998 movie The Horse Whisperer, starring Robert Redford, the idea of ‘talking to the animals’ has held a special place in the imagination. A ‘whale whisperer’ was even called on to assist Collette, the orphaned humpback whale stuck in Sydney’s Pittwater last year. Melita, a medium and clairvoyant from Western Australia, has been ‘reading
+ Page 14
animals’ for four years. She says she gets about four calls a week for her animal psychic skills. Melita says most people ask her to act as a medium between themselves and their pets. One client called about a dog that had attacked a kangaroo, asking her to shed light on its aggression issues. A reading revealed the dog was ‘like a teenager’ and needed boundaries, Melita says. Melita says pets are more than ‘just blobs on four legs’, but admits some people find the idea of reading an animal a bit weird. ‘‘I do know that people are
Townsville Bulletin
Thursday, January 22, 2009
more sceptical about animals than human beings because animals can’t talk and so they find it a bit scary,’’ says Melita. ‘‘Animals feel just like people, at least that’s what I feel when I tune into them.’’ With just the name, breed and age of a pet, Melita says she can ‘read’ the creature, although she can’t explain how. ‘‘I don’t have a clue, you just have it or you don’t have it,’’ she said. ‘‘I just connect, I suppose, on a different level.’’ Leonora, a Tasmanianbased psychic, has been reading animals, mostly pets, for six years. She says she goes into a
‘dream-like’ state when she channels animals. ‘‘People are starting to understand that animals have souls,’’ she says. ‘‘Animals are just being recognised for their place in the world.’’ Kersti Seksel, a Sydneybased veterinary specialist in animal behaviour, says she is sceptical about animal psychics, but says there is no harm if they can provide comfort for pet owners who are concerned about their pet’s behaviour or mourning the loss of a companion. However, psychics shouldn’t replace a vet if an animal has serious health or behavioural problems, she says.
TALK TO THE ANIMALS . . . it’s taking on a new meaning with a psychic townsvillebulletin.com.au
NOTES:
Thursday in focus / opinion / around the world
Chinese New Year celebrated across many ethnic cultures
Thu, Jan 22, 09
Family, food and fun
T’VILLE BUL Ed: Unit: Regn 14 Couple: Colour:
FOOD is at the heart of just about all celebrations in Asian culture. So it’s no surprise that Chinese New Year — one of the most important and widely celebrated festivals on the Asian calendar — comes with its own gastronomic centrepiece: the Chinese New Year banquet. Traditionally held on the evening before the lunar new year (January 25 this year), the Chinese New Year banquet is regarded as a central part of festival celebrations. Angeline Oyang from the Chinese Heritage Association of Australia says the tradition started in rural communities in China where peasants usually ate from hand to mouth. A banquet was a rarity reserved for special occasions like weddings and festivals. ‘‘Chinese New Year is a (celebration of) the coming of spring and giving people a hope for a better future,’’ she explains. Over the years, the custom of the banquet has spread to other countries where Chinese traditions are observed, including Australia. Also known as the family reunion dinner, all generations of the family unit sit at the table and to enjoy the feast together. ‘‘The whole family eats together and no one will eat before everyone is there. Those who cannot make it will have their places set up to denote their presence,’’ Ms Oyang says. ‘‘The meal has to be eaten slowly and everyone has to taste every dish, to get its auspicious meaning and blessing.’’ The dishes customarily served as part of the banquet are chosen for their symbolic meaning. The traditional ‘must have’ dishes at the new year’s eve dinner include oysters for good fortune, mustard greens for longevity and fish for abundance. TV personality Dr Cindy Pan, an ambassador for the City of Sydney’s Chinese New Year Festival, says there are no hard and fast rules on how to celebrate the Chinese New Year festival. ‘‘The most important thing is to get together with family and friends to share a meal,’’ she says.
Food for thought DISHES traditionally served as part of the Chinese New Year banquet are those with auspicious and symbolic meanings, including food with names in Chinese that rhyme with wealth, health and longevity.
Workers prepare ‘jiaozi’ (Chinese dumpling)
Fish, signifying surplus and abundance, is always served at the New Year’s Eve dinner. It must be served whole, with head and tail intact, and cannot be eaten completely, as leftovers bring prosperity for the coming year. In the northern parts of China, dumplings are traditionally eaten at the start of the new year. These are filled with coins, dates or sweets and peanuts. Depending on which of these are found in the dumpling by the person eating, they will be blessed with financial windfall, sweet days or good health respectively.
FINE FARE . . . a shopkeeper arranges oranges Unlike most other festivals, there is no need to do this all on the one day: Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally run for a 15-day period. The timing of the festival — which falls shortly after Christmas and the start of the gregorian New Year on January 1 — also has its advantages. ‘‘If there’s anyone you missed out on visiting (then), don’t worry — you
Customers shop for wax duck
can make up for it at Chinese New Year,’’ Dr Pan said.
alike and festival activities have grown in choice over recent years.
Dr Pan says Chinese New Year is an all-inclusive occasion, one unattached to any religion and not just for the Chinese.
The City of Sydney is running a Chinese New Year Festival, the largest celebration of its kind outside Asia, with events ranging from dragonboat races and cooking shows to Chinese high tea sessions.
In cities across Australia, celebrations are embraced by the Asian and non-Asian communities
‘‘Really, it’s all about family, friends and food,’’ Dr Pan says.
In the southern parts of China, traditional dishes include oysters, which rhyme with good fortune and the ‘hair fungus’ mushroom, which signifies a windfall of money. Traditional Chinese households will bribe their kitchen gods — responsible for reporting to the emperor of the gods on the household activities of the past year — with sweet offerings.
K C MY
Hark, the dogs are barking from beyond the grave
Page: 14
AUSTRALIANS are seeking the services of animal psychics to understand their pets’ behaviour and make contact with their beloved Moggie or Rex from beyond the grave. From the tale of Dr Dolittle to the 1998 movie The Horse Whisperer, starring Robert Redford, the idea of ‘talking to the animals’ has held a special place in the imagination. A ‘whale whisperer’ was even called on to assist Collette, the orphaned humpback whale stuck in Sydney’s Pittwater last year. Melita, a medium and clairvoyant from Western Australia, has been ‘reading
+ Page 14
animals’ for four years. She says she gets about four calls a week for her animal psychic skills. Melita says most people ask her to act as a medium between themselves and their pets. One client called about a dog that had attacked a kangaroo, asking her to shed light on its aggression issues. A reading revealed the dog was ‘like a teenager’ and needed boundaries, Melita says. Melita says pets are more than ‘just blobs on four legs’, but admits some people find the idea of reading an animal a bit weird. ‘‘I do know that people are
Townsville Bulletin
Thursday, January 22, 2009
more sceptical about animals than human beings because animals can’t talk and so they find it a bit scary,’’ says Melita. ‘‘Animals feel just like people, at least that’s what I feel when I tune into them.’’ With just the name, breed and age of a pet, Melita says she can ‘read’ the creature, although she can’t explain how. ‘‘I don’t have a clue, you just have it or you don’t have it,’’ she said. ‘‘I just connect, I suppose, on a different level.’’ Leonora, a Tasmanianbased psychic, has been reading animals, mostly pets, for six years. She says she goes into a
‘dream-like’ state when she channels animals. ‘‘People are starting to understand that animals have souls,’’ she says. ‘‘Animals are just being recognised for their place in the world.’’ Kersti Seksel, a Sydneybased veterinary specialist in animal behaviour, says she is sceptical about animal psychics, but says there is no harm if they can provide comfort for pet owners who are concerned about their pet’s behaviour or mourning the loss of a companion. However, psychics shouldn’t replace a vet if an animal has serious health or behavioural problems, she says.
TALK TO THE ANIMALS . . . it’s taking on a new meaning with a psychic townsvillebulletin.com.au
