The Lunar New Year is right around the corner. Friday January 27th is New Year’s Eve, and January 28th marks the start of the year of the rooster in the Chinese calendar. I was born in the year of the pig. According to what I’ve read, the year of the rooster is especially bad for us “pigs”. Not particularly comforting. However, according to the Chinese zodiac calendar the “pigs” could have some luck when it comes to the lottery. So here’s to buying plenty of lottery tickets in the next year!

Let me just interject here and say… I am not Chinese. Not even close. But I have a great interest in learning about other peoples cultures, and growing up in Vancouver I was fortunate to be able to celebrate the Lunar New Year in some small form every year in school. The Chinese community is obviously not as large here in Ottawa, but there are still opportunities to take part in the Lunar New Year and learn more about it.

Ottawa’s Chinatown

I love Ottawa’s small but vibrant Chinatown, and I encourage anyone interested to use the Lunar New Year as an opportunity to expose your children and yourself to new cultures and traditions..not to mention the delicious cuisine!

Chinatown has a wealth of options for dining, and there are so many places I have yet to try out. But if you are looking for a great Chinese restaurant to go with the kids, then I recommend my favourite – Yangtze. Yangtze is a big bustling restaurant right on Somerset near Bronson. It offers all day dim sum, and it’s delicious! I think dim sum is a great meal to eat out when you have kids. Not only are there all kinds of small delicious dishes for your children to taste, but they come around on a cart for you to grab. So, you don’t have to order off a menu and then wait for your food to arrive. Basically instant gratification for you and your kids, and you can always quickly pay and run when your kids have had enough and start running circles around the restaurant (this is my life).

The restaurant offers high chairs and booster seats for the little ones. Yangtze is a popular spot and it can get really busy on weekends. I prefer to go on a weekday if possible, when we have shown up and even had the whole place to ourselves if we beat the lunch time rush.

Taking your family for some dim sum and then taking a nice stroll through Chinatown might be a great way to start learning more about the Lunar New Year Celebration. I will definitely be taking part!

Preparing for Good Luck

In addition to the delicious food, the Lunar New Year also involves many traditions. One tradition involves cleaning the house from top to bottom before the New Year. People get rid of the old, clearing away all the clutter and prepare the home for the arrival of the New Year…and new luck. The belief is that luck abhors dirt. So if your place is dirty and messy and cluttered, luck will not feel welcome. I can get on board with this. It’s like an early start to spring cleaning, and maybe even a reminder to take down the Christmas lights (yep, ours are still up, as is the dried out wreath on our door…)

Lunar New Year Celebration

Ottawa’s Chinatown is hosting a Lunar New Year Celebration, but not over the actual new year. Instead it is being held during Winterlude on Sunday, February 12 between 11:30 am – 2:30 pm. During the event, you can meet the “King of Good Fortune” who will be accompanied by drummers. Whether in restaurants, or on the street, the King will be giving away 2017 lucky red envelopes with his wishes to children he meets in Chinatown. Among the 2017 red envelopes, there will be 150 special gifts from various Chinatown merchants.

To learn more visit http://www.ottawachinatown.ca

Tell Me Your Favourites!

I would love to hear from you and learn your favourite spots to go in Chinatown. If you don’t visit often, I hope I’ve given you a place to start!