Happy Chinese New Year!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 08:27AM | Share Article 
In honor of this festive occasion I invited one of our adoptive Mothers - Kathy Goedeken to share how she and her son Evan celebrated Chinese New Year in the US. Enjoy!
The Lunar New Year is a holiday that I added to my calendar when I decided to adopt a child from China. During the first two years when I was waiting to meet my child, I attended Lunar New Year celebrations with other American families who adopted children from China. I enjoyed talking with parents and seeing all of the beautiful little girls in their fancy Chinese silk dresses. It renewed my faith that I would also one day become a parent.
I had grown so frustrated and impatient during the third year of my long wait that I decided not to attend the New Year’s party. I didn’t think that I could bear seeing all of the adorable Chinese children with their doting parents, when I was so uncertain if I would ever get a referral to adopt.
I wish that I had known then that my soon-to-be-chosen-son was celebrating the New Year with his foster family in Xining. He was so excited to watch the New Year’s fireworks that he did a happy baby dance at 18 months old. I wish that I could have seen it! I am so grateful that he was part of a family and could enjoy this special holiday.
Last year, we celebrated our first New Year together with my parents and many other families with children from China. Evan was the first and only boy at the event. During the group photo, he sat in the middle of all the cute little girls wearing his gold Chinese silk outfit and laughed and laughed. It was a joyous moment and evening for both of us. It was a long time in the making, and I really savored it.
This year, we decorated our house for Lunar New Year and have read several books together about the holiday. Last weekend, Evan filled red envelopes with gold chocolate Chinese coins to give to his preschool classmates. I am taking the day off of work on Thursday to teach Evan’s preschool class about Lunar New Year. I will read several books about the holiday to the three-year-olds and show them the United States and China on the globe. They will make Lunar New Year crafts, eat rabbit-shaped crackers (for the Year of the Rabbit, of course!) and lucky oranges with cheater chopsticks, and have a parade behind a colorful dragon marionette. I am thankful for the opportunity to introduce Lunar New Year to Evan’s classmates. I want Evan to learn about his heritage and be proud to be Chinese-American.
On Saturday, Evan, my parents and I will celebrate the New Year again with local families who have adopted children from China. We are expecting a big crowd of over 120 people including another little boy who was adopted from China last summer by our friends. I wonder if both boys will sit next to each other in the middle of all the little girls and laugh and laugh together?
For my family, Lunar New Year is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Evan’s culture and spend time with family and friends. I also truly appreciate that I can finally celebrate it with my beautiful boy. During this holiday, I think about Evan’s nannies at the Xining Children’s Home where he spent his first Lunar New Year as a baby and his loving foster family who celebrated with him as a toddler. I am also thankful for the work of Christian Action and the donations of their supporters for my healthy, happy, smart, little boy.
Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy New Year!
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