Why I Don't Make Dumplings for Lunar New Year's
Feb 12
1 min read
This year, Chinese New Year falls on a Tuesday. Monday night, if we’re being precise. Traditionally, it begins the night before.
When I was growing up in San Francisco, the signs were unmistakable. My mother would stop cleaning. She’d tell us not to wash our hair. And in the refrigerator there would be a giant round disc taking up a shelf on its own. Brown. Homogeneous.
Let me say this clearly: it’s nonsense that all Chinese families make dumplings for New Year. My mother was Cantonese. That meant no dumplings. If you wanted dumplings, you went out for them. Or you ordered them from the dim sum cart.
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This was such a fun read! It's true that not all Chinese families do the same traditions, just like how not all AI models are the same (I've been having a blast with AI art prompts lately).
Thanks for sharing this perspective! It’s funny how traditions vary so much within cultures. Speaking of old photos, Refini really helped me fix blurry faces in some of my family's old holiday pictures.
This was so interesting to read – I always just assumed dumplings were universal for Lunar New Year! It makes me think about all the other traditions that get generalized, like how often I have to convert image formats, and I'm so glad I found AVIF to JPG for that.
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