(一) 奧克蘭喜迎龍年
龍年慶典接二連三於奧市東﹑南﹑中區及北岸火紅舉行﹐喜氣洋洋舞獅舞龍放煙花﹔歌舞昇平繽紛熱鬧﹐華洋同歡樂翻天﹗總理不辭奔波親臨現場點睛贈慶﹐政要們洋腔洋調‘Gong-xi-fa-cai’引人笑逐顏開。四款精美龍年郵票惹人喜愛﹐圖書館各種文化活動與華人歡慶龍年。
最欣賞奧克蘭市政府首次贊助舉辦的Howick 2012龍年慶典系列﹐<<印象奧克蘭>>攝影大賽引來高手雲集﹐華人攝影家通過繽紛傑作讓Howick歷史文化村時光倒流- Pictures tell a thousand words。如此以優美藝術競技融入社區﹐既學習主流歷史也宣揚中華文化﹐兼收並蓄開先河的優雅活動與籌辦人不卑不亢的高智慧均堪讚賞 ﹗
主流報章﹑雜誌紛紛以迎接龍年為題﹐探究華人為何特別重視龍寶寶﹖
預產期原定情人節的混血嬰﹐以遊客身份迫不及待成為首名奧克蘭小龍女﹐為奇異爸﹑廣州媽帶來意外驚喜﹗一名屬雞單身港女卻因迷信龍年會為她帶來好運﹐渴望未婚懷龍胎而公開徵求精子。匪夷所思之舉非但反中國傳統道德﹐更醜化華人形像﹔美女思想前衛引來非議﹐啼笑皆非之余寄語華人移民日後接受主流媒體採訪時﹐小心別誤墮部份居心叵測者所設陷阱而弄巧成拙 ﹗
(二) 龍年長年快樂
1月12日下午2點﹐<<奧克蘭人週刊 (The AUCKLANER) >>記者Sophie 及攝影記者Kellie 上門專訪﹐探究龍年為何那麼重要﹖奧克蘭華人又是如何迎接並歡度龍年﹖
我取出多年蒐集的教材箱﹕小型獅子頭﹑中國日曆﹑賀年卡﹑紅封包﹑福字揮春﹑招財進寶合書剪紙﹑漆金賀年糖果盒及傳統拜年兒童紅布偶等﹐還有那條十二年前給屬龍小兒子買的彩紙小金龍… 心想﹐這滿桌中國紅﹐曾經令對中國傳統一知半解的Kiwi教師嘆為觀止﹐今番肯定也能讓兩位記者大開眼界﹗
Sophie最感興趣的是﹐華人為何那麼鍾愛西方人眼中邪惡的‘龍’ ﹖
我解惑道﹕洋人形容岳母為Dragon﹐但中國人眼中﹐龍卻代表皇帝﹔並視龍為尊貴且罕有動物。龍是古代人集若干動物特徵而幻想出来的图腾神﹐也是十二生肖中最受華人喜愛的吉祥神性動物。一直以來有情男女都趕著龍年結婚生個龍寶寶﹐而且中國人自稱“龙的傳人-Descendants of the Dragon”。
又問﹕紅色代表危險﹐可華人過年為何到處張燈結綵一片紅﹖
還不簡單﹖因為紅色代表喜氣洋洋﹐與西方人的‘危險’概念截然不同。此外Chinese-
New-Year叫春節﹐是中國農曆八大節日最重要一個﹔人們慶祝春天開始﹐一直到正月十五元宵節為止。除夕夜家家要吃團年飯﹐孩子守夜祝愿父母長壽﹐還會得到內有壓歲錢的紅包。回家吃團年飯是華人意義重大情意結﹐以致火車站到處人山人海﹐造成‘春運’混亂現象… 文化課上了將近兩個小時﹐為了抒解記者辛勞﹐我給她倆每人一個放滿糖果的紅包﹔祝願她們 Happy Long year (龍的漢語拼音剛好是英文long) 。
Kellie笑著說﹕‘Happy Long year﹐how wonderful?’
我說﹕對﹗龍年長年快樂﹗
附錄﹕1月19日<<奧克蘭人週刊 (The AUCKLANER) >>圖文並茂
報導 ‘Enter the Dragon - 踏進龍年’﹕
Howick resident Song Lam shares her knowledge of Chinese New Year, and why it's still important to her.
Song Lam is from Hong Kong and moved to New Zealand with her family in 1990. She's one of more than 100,000 Chinese living in Auckland, many of whom are gearing up for the biggest event of the Chinese calendar.
The year of the dragon starts on January 23, and this weekend Auckland's Chinese community will begin to celebrate.
When The Aucklander visits, the retired teacher has prepared a table covered with the trappings of Chinese New Year Celebrations.
"In China and Hong Kong we call it Chun Jie, or Spring Festival, because the new year marks the first day of spring. It's the first and most important Chinese festival on the lunar calendar."
She says right now in China, trains will be full as people make their way to family reunions for the all important New Year's Eve banquet. "People will travel a long way so they can all be together for this day." Children are allowed to stay awake until midnight to see in the New Year as it's believed this will give their parents long lives.
She holds up a red envelope covered in gold characters. "On the first day of the year all the children have to dress up nicely and visit their grandparents to wish them a prosperous New Year. The grandparents give them this lai see with money inside for them to buy anything they want."
Children are also offered snacks from the New year candy box; Song has a lacquered red one brimming with treats. Most items associated with the celebration are red as this is the colour of happiness.
She says on the second day of the year, daughters are expected to visit their parents. "And on the third day there is no more visiting because we're very tired and if you visit someone on that day they will be very cross."
In all, Spring Festival celebrations last until the 15th day of the New Year and culminate in lantern festivals. (Auckland's lantern festival begins on February 3).
The Chinese lunar calendar cycles through 12 animals, and 2012 is the year of the dragon. Song says the dragon is a particularly auspicious animal as it represents authority, royalty and strength. "Everyone wants to have a dragon baby; it's a very important year. In China a lot of young couples will rush to have a baby this year."
Song recalls feeling homesick for new year celebrations during her early years in New Zealand. "At that time there were only about 30,000 Chinese in the country. Now there are around 140,000 and we have lots of Chinese organisations which put on celebrations. Unfortunately, in New Zealand we don't have a holiday for the New Year."
Song goes every year to the festival and market day at the ASB showgrounds and the lantern festival in Albert Park. This New Year's Eve she, her husband, younger son and close friends will dine together at a Chinese restaurant.
"We feel very happy being in New Zealand because there are so many chances to celebrate our culture."
