24 minute read
FEATURE: Lantern Festival
2021 Lantern Festival
Lantern Festival, also called Yuan Xiao Festival (元宵节), is a holiday celebrated in China and many other Asian countries that honor deceased ancestors on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar. This year, the Lantern Festival is celebrated on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021.
The Lantern Festival is a time of reconciliation, peace, and forgiveness. The holiday marks the first full moon of the new lunar year and the end of the Chinese New Year.
After the festival, Chinese New Year taboos are no longer in effect, and all New Year decorations are taken down. The Lantern Festival is also the first full moon night in the Chinese calendar, marking the return of spring and symbolizing the reunion of family. However, most people cannot celebrate it with their family at in a big reunion because the festival is not considered a public holiday, so traveling long distances is not feasible, plus this year—COVID.
Origins of the Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival may have originated as far back as 2,000 years ago during the Han dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE). At that time, Emperor Hanmingdi was an advocate of Buddhism. He heard that some monks lit lanterns in the temples to show respect to Buddha on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Therefore, he ordered that all the temples, households, and royal palaces should light lanterns on that evening. This Buddhist custom gradually became a grand festival among the people.
Traditions Activities and Events
According to Chinese tradition, people get together on the night of the Lantern Festival to celebrate with different activities.
As China is a vast country with a long history and diverse cultures, Lantern Festival customs vary regionally including lighting and appreciating lanterns, appreciating the bright full moon, setting off fireworks, flying drones, guessing riddles written on lanterns, eating tangyuan, and more.
Here is a list of the events that people often do to celebrate the Lantern Festival and the meaning behind it.
• Lighting and Watching Lanterns
Lighting and appreciating lanterns is the main activity of the festival. When the festival comes, lanterns of various shapes and sizes are seen everywhere including
households, shopping malls, parks, and streets—attracting numerous viewers. The lanterns’ artwork vividly demonstrates traditional Chinese images and symbols such as fruits, flowers, birds, animals, people, and buildings.
Lighting lanterns is a way for people to pray that they will have a smooth future and express their best wishes for their families. Women who want to be pregnant would walk under a hanging lantern praying for a child.
• Guessing Lantern Riddles
Lantern owners write riddles on paper notes and paste them upon the colorful lanterns. People crowd around to guess the riddles. If someone thinks they have the right answer, they can pull the riddle off and go to the lantern owner to check their answer. If the answer is right, there is usually a small gift as a prize.
Guessing (solving) lantern riddles, starting in the Song Dynasty (960–1279), is one of the most important and popular activities.
• Lion Dances
The lion dance is one of the most outstanding traditional dances in China. Ancient people regarded the lion as a symbol of bravery and strength and thought that it could scare away evil and protect people and their livestocks. Therefore, lion dances are performed at important events, especially the Lantern Festival, to ward off evil and pray for good fortune and safety.
During lion dance, the “lion” moves from place to place looking for some green vegetables and red envelopes in which money are hidden inside. The performance is very amusing and spectators enjoy it very much.
Traditional Foods
In China, people in northern China eat Yuanxiao (元宵: glutinous rice balls) while people in southern China eat Tangyuan (汤圆: glutinous rice balls) on Lantern Festival.
In fact, Yuanxiao and Tangyuan are both made of glutinous rice flour and filling; there is not much difference between the ingredients. When you take a look at the two, you might not even be able to tell the difference. Although these two glutinous rice balls are similar in raw material and appearance, they are actually two kinds of food with different practices and tastes.
YUANXIAO (元宵)
Yuanxiao in Chinese means the evening of the Lantern Festival. The Lantern Festival was first called Shangyuanjie (上 元节). Because the most important activities in the evening at Lantern Festival are eating Yuanxiao and enjoying the moon and the lanterns, the name of the festival in Chinese gradually changed into Yuanxiaojie (元宵节: Yuanxiao Festival).
TANGYUAN (汤圆)
Tangyuan is a traditional Chinese snack. It is a ball shape food made from glutinous rice flour. Generally, Tangyuan contains fillings just like Yuanxiao.
It is said that the rice ball symbolizes a better life and family reunion, eating Tangyuan means a happy new year. It is the essential food for the Lantern Festival in south China. In some areas of southern China, people even eat Tangyuan instead of dumplings during the Spring Festival.
In addition to the celebration of the end of the Chinese New Year, the rarely mentioned part about the festival is that it was traditionally seen as Chinese Valentine’s Day, providing an opportunity for unmarried men and women to meet.
In ancient times, young women, especially daughters of eminent families, hardly stepped out of their houses. But during the Lantern Festival, it was a tradition that all people, including those young women, would come out to watch lantern shows.
Watching lanterns at night was an opportunity for young women to find a man whose appearance appealed to them. Guessing the answers to lantern riddles was an activity that gave young people a chance to interact with each other and get to know more about each other. For thousands of years, there have been numerous love stories originating during the Lantern Festival.
Ancient Chinese poets often expressed their emotions/feelings toward their loved ones during the lantern festival. For example, a favorite poem is Lantern Festival · The Green Berry 生查子· 元夕 by one of the most famous poets Ouyang Xiu, in which he expressed missing his lover during the lantern festival.
Lantern Festival · The Green Berry By Ouyang Xiu On the fifteenth spring night last year, The lanterns on the street did glow. The moon was up, the willows below; For their date in twilight they’d go. On the fifteenth spring night this year, The lanterns and moon are still so. Where’s the one here one year ago? To her sleeve her missing tears flow.
Bible Stories Lantern Show in Yilan, Taiwan
May Chiu’s design production May Chiu’s design production May Chiu and her daughter
Many large lantern shows in Taiwan were canceled due to COVID-19, however, the smaller ones are making a splash. Yilan’s “The Beautiful Night” Lunar New Year’s Eve streetscape lantern show includes the “Bible Stories Lantern Show” to add a more diverse cultural look. Twelve large themed lanterns, designed by designer May Chiu, were displayed in Warehouse No. 4 of the Yilan Zhongxing Cultural and Creative Park until March 1, 2021.
Chiu said that the design of the 12 lantern show cars is based on biblical stories such as “The Angel’s Tidings,” “The Three Doctors of the East,” “The Star of Bethlehem,” and “The Christmas Gift”. Each show car has a biblical verse, which records the origin of the story and embodies the Bible in a spiritual and artistic journey.
6Tips to Create Healthy Meals for Your Family
By: Samm Diep-Vidal
I began making bento boxes for my kids in 2016 when my oldest started preschool. Today, my daughters Clara (8) and Gemma (6) are adventurous eaters. I’m Chinese, born in Vietnam, and my husband Marc is from Spain. We’ve always believed in the importance of raising our girls to know and understand the cultures that make them unique.
In 2018, we took the most amazing family trip to Hong Kong & Tokyo where, in Tokyo, I attended a 1-on-1 Bento-making class with a Japanese mom and returned home with even more ideas and tricks to try. Between the class and stocking up on Daiso bento accessories, I felt equipped to take lunches to a whole new level. In 2019, I began teaching beginner and intermediate bento-making classes through Denver Parks and Recreation. It was so much fun to meet like-minded moms who were also looking to explore more meal ideas for their kiddos.
Here are ideas that have helped me provide healthy and culturally-relevant foods for my kids:
#1 MEAL PLANNING
Meal planning and prepping is huge in my house, especially for those days I have elaborate bentos planned. I love repurposing leftovers into stir fries, empanadas, onigiri, quiches, etc. Since the pandemic, I post a weekly menu of what’s for lunch and dinner each day. It’s nice for the family to see and also helps me plan better with groceries and prepping. I use an app called MealBoard which allows you to import recipes from websites and to schedule them for specific meals. You don’t need to use a fancy app, just have a general weekly idea to avoid potential stress and repetition.
#2 BRING ON THE OPTIONS
It may seem like a lot more work to pack your kids a bunch of different options in their lunches but most of the healthy snacks (fruits/veggies/cheese/ nuts) can easily be prepacked the night before and stored in the fridge. Then, you can just focus on preparing their main meal the morning of. Giving plenty of options minimizes the potential waste if there’s something they don’t like as well as giving them a fun sense of independence because they get to choose what they want to eat.
#3 SKEWERS FOR THE WIN
Skewering foods is a simple way to make them more attractive. You don’t need fancy picks from Japan. You can pick up some cocktail toothpicks from the grocery store. The dollar store also sells plastic/reusable colorful picks with hearts and stars. You’d be surprised how much more appealing cherry tomatoes, peppers, broccoli and cheeses/lunch meat look when skewed on a colorful stick versus just put in a container.
#4 MAKE IT A FAMILY AFFAIR
Allow your kids to be a part of the process. I ask my kids for meal suggestions and ideas. Contributing in preparing your own meal always rewards you with a sense of pride and accomplishment, especially for kids. My kids are also in charge of cleaning and reorganizing all the bento accessories.
#5 TRY, TRY AGAIN
If foods come home untouched, don’t give up. Keep trying them. Cut carrots into fun shapes. Make a rice ball head and give it some broccoli hair. Sneak cauliflower into muffins (it actually makes them quite moist!). It’s all trial and error. Find different ways to sneak in the foods you want them to eat into meals you know they already enjoy. This is a fun process, don’t overthink it and don’t stress yourself out.
#6 INCORPORATE CULTURE
Add aspects of your culture to each meal. I do a lot of stir fries because they’re super quick and easy and you can throw in tons of tofu and veggies. Another big staple in our house, from my husband’s side, is tortilla de patatas (also known as “tortilla española”). It’s like a giant cake made from potatoes, eggs and onions/garlic. We make this weekly and my kids love it, hot and fresh or room temp, in their lunches. You’ll find this served as a tapa in just about any bar in Spain.
Every child is different and has different tastes and interests. The important thing is to expose them to as many varieties of foods as possible.
Chou and his family campaign for Biden with Jason Crow, U.S. House of Representatives (CO), and Julian Castro, former U.S. Secretary of Housing
By Annie Guo VanDan
EQUITY AND INCLUSION AT THE HELM
“My first memory of being politically active was when I was about 16 during the Rodney King civil unrest back in 1991. That was my first exposure to racism within the system. Looking back, I wish we had the Black Lives Matter movement then and we could have worked on systemic change for the last 30 years.”
Howard Chou recalls speaking at City Hall in San Mateo, Calif. about the injustice that Rodney King had suffered.
Since he can remember, he has always been fighting for social justice—either through his work or through contributing to political activities.
In recent years, he has taken his political and civic engagement to another level by being elected into a leadership role with the Democratic Party.
Chou was first elected as the Vice Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party in December of 2018. As the only Asian American to hold any elected political party position in Colorado, the opportunity to lead in this role means a lot to him.
“I am both proud and honored because I have an opportunity continue to bring our values of equity and inclusion to the forefront and continue to expand our base and elect leaders who truly represent the people,” he said.
This role also allows him to serve on the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which he takes great pride in representing Colorado on the national scene. Re-elected in March 2019, he is completing his two-year term and running for re-election in March of this year. Furthermore, he was elected as the Treasurer for the Association of State Democratic Committee (a branch of the DNC). Born in Shanghai, Chou immigrated to the U.S. in 1980. His grandmother was a refugee granted asykum and was able to sponsor his parents, brother and him into the U.S. Chou spent his younger years in the San Francisco Bay Area, before moving to Kansas in 2003, and then to Colorado in 2007.
“Most of what shaped my perspective was being in lower income areas in a very diverse Bay Area where I would spend a lot of my time in other families’ homes,” he said.
Chou and his son Evan with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris Chou and his family with Morgan Carroll, Chairwoman of the Colorado Democratic Party
Grace Meng, U.S. Representative for New York
Andrew Yang, candidate for New York City mayor
These experiences have fueled his passion to advance racial justice and civil rights, climate care, immigrant and human rights, and healthcare for everyone.
With this new administration, Chou believes in President Biden’s plan to address the pandemic and contain the virus.
“We have, for the first time, a strategic plan in place and the necessary leadership to address it by consulting with medical and scientific experts and effectively put wheels in motion to stop the spread.”
He continues: “I am looking forward to preserving our planet again; Biden has put us back in the Paris Agreement, revoked the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline and put a moratorium on oil and gas leasing in the Arctic. But we need to continue to protect our environment and exercise climate care.”
Chou makes it a point to stay up to date on immigration issues. He believes there must be a humane handling of immigrants, who make the backbone of this nation. And he is looking for real systemic changes for racial justice and equity.
One way to move the needle on equity is to engage communities of color to vote and get involved politically. He is working on increasing AAPI voter engagement as well as helping with outreach to voters in rural and mountain towns in Colorado.
As the current chair of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Initiative of Colorado Democrats, he encourages AAPIs to run for office. Seeing diverse representation in leadership positions is important for communities of color.
He believes that Kamala Harris stepping into the Vice President position as the first Black and South Asian woman is powerful.
“Both the Black and Asian community can now envision a future where our perspective and influence can be represented at the highest level. That is a great day for all of America.” As he looks ahead, he acknowledges that there is so much work to do, but finally it can be done without obstruction from the top. “The lack of leadership in the last four years has eroded our government and it has only shown how far off path we have gone and the hate and divisiveness that exists in our country.” “Now that we have direction, we need to be vigilant in protecting our democracy and build a backbone for a sustainable future for everyone.”
Joseph Neguse, U.S. Representative for Colorado
HOWARD CHOU
Vice Chair of the Colorado Democratic Party
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
SEOUL MANDOO
2222 S Havana St Unit J, Aurora, CO 80014 303.953.9590 | seoulmandoo.com Open Hours: Mon to Sat 11am - 8pm; Sun 11am - 6pm
Seoul Mandoo in Aurora opened in April 2020, just in time to get shut down during the pandemic. In these past 10 months, the restaurant and its staff have been adapting to all of the changes in Colorado’s restaurant industry. Despite opening during the COVID era, the restaurant’s owner JW Lee was hopeful to bring giant dumplings or traditional Seoul dumplings to Colorado. Lee, who is also the owner of Seoul Korean BBQ and Hot Pot and has more than 20 years of chef experience, has always enjoyed experimenting with new restaurant concepts. The location that is now Seoul Mandoo was previously a pastry shop, ramen restaurant, and Korean restaurant. Now, in his latest venture, Lee presents his newest concept—giant steamed Korean dumplings!
Mandu are dumplings in Korean cuisine. Mandu can be steamed, boiled, pan-fried, or deep-fried. The styles vary across regions in Korea, and they are well-known street foods in Korea, especially popular on New Year’s Day.
What makes Seoul Mandoo’s dumplings unique is their size. Rose Lee said: “Before Seoul Mandoo, I had never seen such large dumplings.”
Rose Lee, the manager of Seoul Mandoo, shared that the dumpling recipes are straight from Korea and include steaming all of the large dumplings with all types of fillings such as meat (silky marinated pork), kimchi, veggie, shrimp, and galbi (sugar-and-soy-marinated Korean pork), and frying some of the smaller ones with kimchi or meat filling.
JW and Rose also work together to create new and innovative items, such as the veggie dumplings. “We wanted to have an option for vegetarians, including both dumplings and rice cakes, as we are seeing more and more vegetarians in the area.” Rose said: “Our menu is growing. At first, we started with only three items. Then we added the shrimp dumpling, sweet red bean, spicy rice cake, and the combo plate.” While the timing of opening a new restaurant during a pandemic was not ideal, Seoul Mandoo has been thriving as many people have been ordering takeout and looking for simple, yet delicious meals to eat at home. Additionally, the restaurant offers frozen pre-cooked dumplings that just need to be heated up at home (microwaved or fried). While the restaurant has been operating for less than a year, they have grown a huge following with nearly 3,000 followers on Instagram. Rose notes that they have a lot of regulars as well as new customers every day through word of mouth.
Order online at seoulmandoo.com or find Seoul Mandoo on UberEats for delivery options. Follow their Instagram at @seoul. mandoo for their giveaways and restaurant updates. If you’re trying Seoul Mandoo for the first time, go for the Giant Dumpling Combo (Kimchi, Galbi, Shrimp, Meat) for $13 to taste a bit of everything!
Soul Dumpling (6 pieces) $6
• Meat/Kimchi (steamed or fried)
Giant Dumpling
• Meat/Kimchi/Veggie (4 pieces) $11 • Galbi (4 pieces) $13 • Shrimp (5 pieces) $15
Frozen Dumpling (25 pieces) $20
• Meat/Kimchi By Lina Zhu Photos by Lijin Zhao
While China Cafe II offers your traditional Americanized Chinese food—sesame chicken, Mongolian beef, and chicken lo mein—it is their traditional Northern Chinese dishes that make them stand out among Chinese restaurants in Aurora.
The restaurant’s owner, who is originally from northeast China, was the previous owner of the popular Lucky China restaurant on Havana Street. When she moved to her new location and opened China Cafe II, her focus was to serve traditional dishes from her hometown.
Since Northern China experiences harsh, cold, and dry winters, as well as hot summers, consuming calories and salt is crucial. Northerners tend to go heavy with the salt and strong seasonings, compared with the South where chilies and pickles are more commonly used.
Some of the signature dishes at China Cafe II include:
Beef Noodle Soup
All of the components of beef noodle soup are important—the soup, the meat, the noodles—and any bonus add-ons.
At China Cafe II, the soup is red braised, which means the soup base was braised in soy sauce for hours before serving. The soup is seasoned with five spices, extra star anise, loads of ginger, and fermented bean sauce. The noodles are cooked a little more than al dente, accounting for the noodles continuing to soften in the hot broth. Tender chunks of beef enhance the chewy noodles and savory soup.
China Cafe II’s signature beef soups are Spicy Beef Noodle ($12.99), Tomato Juice Beef Noodle ($12.99), and Braised Beef Noodles ($12.99).
China Cafe II
China Cafe II, located in East Iliff Plaza (Iliff and Buckley), serves authentic Chinese cuisine. The restaurant specializes in traditional Northern China dishes such as beef noodle soups, dumplings, and meat buns.
Bao Zi
Bao Zi is considered a Chinese ‘convenience’ food that is hearty, nutritious, and fulfilling. This portable snack or meal is the king of street food in Asia. China Cafe II offers several Bao Zi options filled with meat or veggies. Eat it on the go and with your hands!
16870 E Iliff Avenue Aurora, CO 80013 303.369.0330 www.chinacafeiiii.com Open Hours: 11am - 9pm
Meat Buns
Meat Buns, also known as Roujiamo, are street food originating from the cuisine of the Shaanxi Province and widely consumed all over China. The meat is most commonly pork, stewed for hours in a soup containing over 20 spices and seasonings. Since this dish is very traditional, you don’t often find it in Chinese restaurants in the U.S., so it is a special treat offered at China Cafe II. The Pork in Baked Bun comes with two pieces ($9.99)! By Lina Zhu Photos by Lijin Zhao
Dumplings
Jiaozi is a type of Chinese dumpling, commonly eaten in China and other parts of East Asia. Jiaozi typically consists of ground meat and/ or vegetable fillings wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together.
China Cafe II offers steamed and fried dumplings with a variety of fillings including pork with napa cabbage, chives shrimp with pork, beef with radish, pickled napa with pork, and so on.
Denver Kunming Sister Cities Committee plans for a virtual Chinese New Year celebration
By Jeanie Johnson and France Addington-Lee, Kunming Committee Co-Chairs
Denver Sister Cities International members Jim Ryder and Rachel Clements with OCA Chair Margaret Choi at The Purple Ginger to donate meals to seniors.
Autumn Harvest Festival Celebration in Kunming Park
Local Pandemic Support
In the spring, the committee gave gift certificates from the Empress Seafood Restaurant to hard-working, frontline workers with Denver Health. We also partnered with the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) Colorado to donate meals from The Purple Ginger and 1,000 masks to Asian-American seniors in Aurora.
Kunming Park Picnic
In February 2020, Denver Sister City’s Kunming, China Committee was fortunate to hold a live Chinese New Year Celebration and silent auction at the Empress Seafood Restaurant before the pandemic set in. This event is the committee’s main annual fundraiser with earnings from the 2020 event dedicated to the new John H. Yee Scholarship Fund.
John H. Yee Scholarship Fund
Many Coloradans may have known John Yee who helped found the Denver-Kunming Sister City relationship. A translator for the venerated Flying Tigers during WWII in Kunming, chance brought John Yee to Denver where he became an educator, professor, and community leader. After his passing in 2019, the Kunming Committee created a new scholarship fund to honor his memory and life’s work.
The Scholarship Fund provides financial aid to Denver students of all ages for educational and cultural travel to Kunming. Student trips can be life-changing experiences and promote intercultural relationships, global awareness, and leadership development in our youth. They also help build long-term relationships between Denver and Kunming.
In October, committee members and friends enjoyed a socially-distanced picnic at Kunming Park to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival and see the new interpretive park sign. We encourage you to visit Kunming Park, located at 200 E. Harvard Avenue, one of Denver’s most beautiful parks with an outstanding view of the mountains.
Lion dance at the 2020 CNY celebration
Si Wu plays the guzheng
To support student exchanges with Kunming, we appreciate donations to the John H. Yee Scholarship Fund. Please mail a check to Denver Sister Cities, 2650 E. 40th Ave., Denver, CO 80205 or visit www.denversistercities.org.
2021 Free Virtual Chinese New Year Celebration
Our annual tradition of celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year will continue, but this year it will be virtual and free.
Mark your calendars for
Saturday, Feb. 20, from 4
p.m. to 5 p.m. The event will feature new year greetings from Kunming, kung fu and guzheng performances, how to cook “Crossing-theBridge Noodles” – Kunming’s local specialty, a calligraphy demonstration of a couplet and more.
We hope to see you and we wish you much happiness, health and prosperity in the year ahead! Register at
bit.ly/398Sjm7.
