Chinese New Year

Yongjuan Feng
ESL 100
03-12-2011
Essay 1
Chinese New Year
Today is our Chinese New Year, a lot of Chinese people live in America, of course they celebrate their new year. They eat a big meal on New Year’s Eve to welcome a good new year. When new year is approaching , I miss the entertainments in my hometown though I can find some feeling about Chinese New Year in the U.S. There are a lot of forms of entertainments which Chinese people can’t find in the U.S. but in my hometown, and I miss them very much!
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In my opinion, the most significant event during the new year holiday is to visit the flower market. I went there every year with my families when I was in china. In China , most people were on holiday during the new year, so there were a lot of programs around the holiday. I liked going to the flower market before new year, I could choose the flowers which I liked home and arranged them on my style. I always thought it was an art no matter what they looked like. During the new year, some of my relatives and friends came and visited my family and me, if they appreciated my work, I felt very happy. In the market, I also chose a little orange tree home, which was a traditional way to hope that everything would be all right in the new year , it meant good luck! It is similar to when Americans put a Christmas tree home during the Christmas holiday . In the market, some people brought some peach blossoms home because many Chinese people believed that they would fall in love with somebody in the new year if they did so. Maybe it never worked, but many unmarried persons purchased some in the market. The flower market was only opened a few days before New Year’s Eve, the gardeners put all they planted in the flower market to sell only in those days. I liked to go there before the deadline because all the flowers were at a low price at that time, and I could just arrange the flowers before the meal. I enjoyed my art while I was enjoying my meal on the every New Year’s Eve , It delighted me! I could purchase different fresh flowers in Costco, in Dominick's, or in many other supermarkets. However, it is totally different because the feeling was so nice when I standed in the flower market, it extended as far as the eye can reached, hundreds of gardeners spreading their plants on both sides of the road. In addition, there are no vehicles, people only enjoyed the plants on foot. Everyone was happy in the market because they celebrated the same festival at the same time. I miss the flowers in the market and I also miss the smile on everyone's face, which i can't find in Chicago.


I miss the spring festival show too. On the night of New Year’s Eve, we went to theater to enjoy the new year show. There were a lot of great programs in the show because they were selected by some government organizations from the towns, The performers prepared the show for a long time and they performed well. We always had a lot of fun there. sometimes , I had a little bit part in the show too, I could neither sing nor dance, but one of my friends could . She performed in the show, I could only help her to dress up and look after her things when she was performing. It made me think that I was a special audience. Can you see what I felt at that time? Fulfillment. I was told that there was also shows for celebrating the New Year in the U.S. but I haven't seen them in Chicago because I know nothing about the performers , and it seems less interesting. More over, I can't go to the show with my parents or my sisters in Chicago since they are in China. If I go to see the show in Chicago , I only will feel homesick.



What I miss most, however , is the volleyball matches. There were some big volleyball competitions during the holiday, The teams usually competed in the city center. All the teams must be selected from the town. I liked watching volleyball matches very much, I couldn’t wait for those new year's competitions. I used to go to every town to see the selective trials with my husband, he is also a great volleyball fan. We were sure to go to see the exciting competitions during the new year, there were lots of fun there, some fans brought a big drum in to inspire the players who they support, they beat the drum hard when the team they liked got a score. It is quite effective because the players played harder, and the audiences were more enthusiastic and exciting. My husband told me there was also a big volleyball match in New York. However, we have no time for it. We have to work during the Chinese New Year in the U . S. Thus, I can only think about the exciting matches when I watch my husband play volleyball with his friends in the park.

I am new in the U.S., I have no adapted to the new environment so far. I still can't find any interesting things in Chicago to celebrate the Chinese New Year. On the other hand, I can't forget my life in China ether. As a result, I care very little about our Chinese New Year in the U.S. . The Chinese New Year for me is only the way to remind me about all the memories about the flower market, the celebrations and the volleyball matches in my hometown.