The Chinese in me| Day in the life RCD
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| The Chinese in me |
Hello RCD readers,
The title is self explanatory. Family name is Chin abbreviation of Chin Fo Sieeuw. I'm a biracial women for Suriname with both sides of my family tree having Chinese descendants.
My Chinese heritage is a big part of me. My family traditions, my culture and my essence is intertwined with being Chinese. Most of all knowing about Chinese history is something my siblings and I learned as baby's. And because I was raised by a father that kept his Chinese roots close to him and a mother that made family time important. So me learning this was important from both my parents. Know who you are and where you come from. My reflection may not look Chinese but I do have a part of this in me.
Our Food
The Sunday soul food diner at Grandma's house is something I grew up with all my cousins coming together. Later learned this comes from African decency traditions. But the Sunday morning breakfast at our favorite dim sum restaurant after church really shows my upbringing.
I'm slowly learning as an adult from my brother and trying to recreate the Chinese recipes that we were brought up with.
Our traditions
The most important Chinese traditions that I've kept consist my family.
Family
- Nourish the family bond
The traditions that I was brought up with start with family. Keeping the hectic bond as a family. I've tried to keep it with just my siblings because we have less family in Suriname. Also what brings people together is food. Eating as a family at the diner table. This is something I will keep for my own future family tree. Creating family time even in a hectic schedule. The importance of my nieces and nephews learning what family is and how to take care of each other. Of loving each other. Of feeling save together. This will give them the essence of knowing they are never alone because they have family who loves them.
- Family loyalty
We stand together because we our stronger together and making sure we keep this bond strong is important. Not letting your family fall when they need help. Taking care of each other when a family member needs help.
The most known positive Chinese stereotype that I've kept would be work ethics.
Work ethics
Some will disagree and say this is a stereotype that isn't true. Which I have to say I do agree. Because we are humans and not everyone is the same. But I've met family members, colleagues and friends from Chinese descent who really take pride in this. Having pride for your work by doing the best you can. Including myself. Working hard for your family and not giving up. Being consistent in sometimes brutal environments and sometimes putting your mental & physical state at risk just to get through feeding your family and making sure their okey. Or as millennial not let your family name fall by always being the best that you can be in your expertise.
Our festivities
The festivities that I do celebrate are:
The Water element symbolizes clear thinking, sincerity, and accuracy. For greatest success, learn to compromise with those who are in a position to help you. Tiger years are a time of commotion, uproar, and bold new moves. An unusually charismatic influence, more action-oriented, and more impulsive is active.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or the Moon Cake Festival, is the most important festival after the Chinese New Year. Celebrated in China and other Asian countries, it’s more than 3,000 years old and dates back to when the Chinese emperors worshipped the moon, praying for a bountiful harvest. It’s celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar, provided there is a full moon.
There are three basic concepts to the festival that are closely connected: gathering, giving thanks for the harvest, and praying for a good future, health, longevity, beauty, and even a spouse or babies.
The question of the day is how do I celebrate this
In Suriname we have big festival with musical, dance attractions and lot's of food. I mostly just enjoy the time with my family and remembering what this day entails. But as an Catholic I'm not entirely fixated of the superstitious element of this holiday. I focus on the being thank full for a blessed year and hoping for a better one coming up.
Now with all this positive written views of mine of course we as a culture and ethnicity have a bad reputations too. From discrimination towards people of color in China and other countries. And the language barrier that a lot of people have a noticeable problem with. To the culturally false stereotypical ideas what people think Chinese people do.
I can't disagree with the facts. But....
What needs to change?
I'm a perfect example of what needs to happen. Because I'm biracial. Two families that may not have met have slowly learned a different way of thinking. We've learned different cultures, different religions, different ethnicity's, different political views and with that a different way of thinking. As a mixing pot family we've learned to respect each other views. Enjoys each other differences. Find empathy in each other difficulties. I think the biggest problem in society is entire groups of people stay in their bubble. Most of the time we don't try to open our minds to other ways of thinking and respecting those different views when we entirely don't agree with them.
Like every religion and culture. Each has their positive and negative so to judge an entire culture based on the negative is incorrect. But as a society change needs to happen. And change starts with you being the person you want others to become.
Happy Chinese New Year every one.
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