Red lanterns were held up in my house during the Spring Festival like they were winking at me. Delectable food and oranges were placed at our table. Ever since I first knew about the Spring Festival and other Chinese holidays, I was always filled with rapture celebrating them. I notice that there are so many Chinese cultural elements around me, such as fun activities, delicious food, and amazing festivals.
I find a lot of appetizing and enjoyable foods that are around me. My house is like a five-star kitchen full of exquisite food. My dad is the best chef that I know of. He makes various delicious Chinese foods, like dumplings, steamed buns, noodles, rice, and hot pot. The steamy aroma always makes my brain drift away. In addition to the food I have in the house, I find in the grocery stores that some foods are shipped from China, while some Chinese vegetables and fruits are planted and grown locally. In my local area, there are authentic Chinese restaurants as well as Americanized Chinese food.
Some Chinese restaurants simulate Chinese foods by making a mixture of American food and Chinese food flavors to make it special.
Furthermore, many activities like calligraphy, paper-cutting, and Kungfu are around me at home, at school and in my community. For example, Chinese calligraphy is a delicate type of Chinese writing that uses brushes, ink and rice paper. I learned it when I visited my grandma in China last summer, and I sometimes practice at home in the U.S. When I attended the international festival, one local Chinese artist wrote my Chinese name for me to keep, and I exchanged my writing of Fú, meaning fortune in Chinese with other people. Inspired by the name writing idea, I wrote my school friends’ names in Chinese on bookmarks and gifted them. One other thing that connects me to the bigger community is Kungfu. I not only practiced it myself, but also brought it to my school and taught other children. They were excited and eager to learn with me.
Additionally, Kungfu is also widely represented in many movies, for example, Kungfu Panda and Mulan. Now, movies like those impact many people becoming interested in Kung Fu and Chinese culture.
Lastly, my local Chinese community celebrates major Chinese festivals together and those events attract diverse people to attend. For example, the Spring festival and the Mid-Autum festival are the most celebrated ones. Many children and adults from different cultures sing Chinese songs and dance with Chinese music as they celebrate over delectable food. As part of the celebration, some people also read aloud Chinese ancient poems. When the Mid-Autum festival arrives, the community always holds an outdoor picnic, where everyone brings food to share and watch various performances together. One interesting fact about me is that I have participated in a lot of Chinese cultural events and festivals, and I sang Chinese opera and pop songs on stage. I enjoy being part of the cultural celebration, even though it usually puts me in mixed emotions of being nervous and excited. I am fortunate to have those celebrations around me because I love attending Chinese festival celebrations and share my culture with
more people in an entertaining way.
Overall, Chinese cultural elements are immersed in my life. Chinese culture makes me feel confident, bold, strong, and proud. I am fortunate to embrace Chinese food, activities, festivals, and other cultural elements. I love Chinese culture. Therefore, I am eager to share Chinese culture and make my community a better diverse place.
