by Ken Tsui | For Chinese Canadians, the December holidays are good and fun but January’s Lunar New Year is really where it’s at. As Chinese culture’s definitive occasion to gather with family, the holiday boasts the largest annual human migration on the planet and a unique set of rituals to boot. In preparation for the Year of the Rooster, school yourself on a few of the essential practices at Dr. Sun Yat Sen Garden’s first full-Garden exhibition, ‘Coming Home: Traditions of Chinese New Year’. Through an array of multi-sensory installations, traditional food tastings and education panels, the exhibit ignites the four unique pillars of Chinese New Year: decorating, eating, connecting and celebrating (papercut design above by local artist Nicole Jang). And to ring in the new year on January 29th, the Garden is hosting ‘The Year of the Rooster Temple Fair’, an annual festival of crafts, music, demonstrations of tai chi and traditions (such as scaring away evil spirits with a lively lion dance). If you’re looking to breathe a bit of life into the doldrums of your winter, give it a shot.

Exhibition: Coming Home: Traditions of Chinese New Year
January 17 – February 24 / 10am – 4pm / Included with admission, free for Garden members
Festival: Year of the Rooster Temple Fair
January 29 / 10am – 4pm / By donation

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