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18 economist sunsuntribune culture saturday jan 29 2006 adopting chinese new year adoptions marriages bring loved ones into culture staff writer simone joseph discovers a manda clarke isnt chi nese neither is linda tehiple same goes for jack heath but they all have good reason to celebrate todays new year the most important holiday on the chinese calendar ms clarkes family is from eng land and she had a very caucasian upbringing but every year around the time of the chinese new year the stouf- fville resident goes for dim sum with friends watches the dragon dancers at markhams pacific mall and most of all enjoys seeing her daughter olivia who is eight immersed in the holiday after all if it wasnt for olivia she wouldnt be celebrating adopting olivia as a baby enticed ms clarke to begin partici pating in the 15day holiday the longest and most important holi day of the chinese calendar i didnt know it was such an important occasion its equivalent to our christmas ms clarke a single mother was surprised when she learned how important the holiday is i didnt know it was such an important occasion its equivalent to our christmas she said some people in china take weeks of holidays to prepare for and celebrate the new year family reunions with many travelling back to their hometowns from cities are common at celebrations people often wear red clothes decorate red paper with poems and give chil dren lucky money inred envelopes red symbolizes fire which accord ing to legend can drive away bad luck the chinese new year ends with a lantern festival people hang lanterns in temples and carry lanterns to an evening parade under the light of the moon staff photosjoerd witteveen olivia clarke shows off a pendant symboliizing the year of the dog olivias mom amanda has enjoyed one of the highlights of the lantern festival is the dragon dance the dragon is often made of silk paper and bamboo the colourful dragon is often held by young men who dance as they guide it through the streets ms clarke chuckles when she thinks back to a chinese new year two years ago when olivia insisted on bathing in mandarin orange juice it is supposed to bring wealth and good fortune m it did was make her skin itchy she was upset about it she said she and olivia plan to spend at least one chinese new year in hong kong or china linda temple started celebrating the chinese new year for much the same reasons as ms clarke she too adopted a daughter from china ms temple whose daughter takes lessons at the toronto chinese dance company in markham said there is so much to learn about the chinese new year that she picks up something different every year for example the whitby resident did not know you are supposed to have a flowering plant at your home during the celebration ms temple adopted abbey 5 from chinas hunan province olivia displays a banner proclaim ing kung hoi cho she found at markhams pacific mall immersing her daughter in her culture after adopting her in china ms temples immersion into the chinese new year thanks to abbey has caught on with other family members as well while her family background is scottishenglishirish relatives such as her eightyearold nephew enjoy the chinese new year he even asked her for books about the chi nese new year to show his class markham regional councillor jack heath is well accustomed to chinese new year celebrations after marrying krista chu 23 years ago he enjoys the towns annual chi nese new year celebrationswhich this year will include fortune telling childrens chinese dancing and a chinese instrumental orchestra at the markham civic centre chinese dumplings and shanghai noodles are among his favourite foods at this time with more than 100000 residents of chinese descent living in york region plenty will celebrate but mr heath says the meaning of the celebration is often lost on others in the community it doesnt sink in well with us westerners its just good food he said i see it as good times and good food staff photosjoerd witteveen symbols of new year luck the single word took or for tune is often dis played in many homes and stores it is usually written by brush on a dia mondshaped piece of red paper flowers flow ers are an impor tant part of new year decorations in old china nat ural products were often used in cele brations as well as in daily life the two flowers most associated with the new year are the plum blossom and the water narcis sus couplets written on red paper these best wishes hang in storefronts in the month before new years day they often stay up for two months year of the dog astrology if you were bom in the year of the dog chinese astrology says you are loyal fdthful and honest you look out for people less fortu nate than you are terry fox he was one of the great canadians born in the year of the dog dog work volun teering is a favourite pasttime of those born under this sign the markham doityoursejf projects vnew products home relatedisewices howjo seminars wwwmarkhamhomeshowcom mecowan road 6km north of hw adults 5 seniors students 131 8p3 children undef 12 free fi sponsored by friday noon to 6pm saturday 1 0am to 6prnt j jev w events tnaffiiint