Not the same as before

My mother always told me that everything will not be the same forever. Actually, I always believed that nothing in my life would change, even if the world is changing. However now, I think I was wrong. After I moved to Chicago, I knew it more and more clearly. Many things are not the same anymore. This year is the second year of my living in Chicago and it is also second year I have celebrated the most important festival, Chinese New Year, in Chicago. However, the celebrations in Chicago do not resemble this great holding in China.

In China, the Chinese New Year is the most important festival and the happiest festival at the year. Family members who are working in other cities or provinces will go home and enjoy meals and spend time to welcome the New Year. I remember two years ago, my father and my mother cooked a lot of delicious dishes and bought some beverages for my sister, brother and me just like she did every year. Sometimes my brother and sister and I would help my parents to wash the vegetables and prepare them for my mother because my mother is the great chef in my family. We always had a very happy dinner party together. Those days were so wonderful, but they have been changed now. Yesterday was the Chinese New Year’s Eve, but my mother still had to work, and the three children in my family still needed to go to class. Therefore, we could not prepare the delicious dinner or have a series of activities for celebrating the New Year’s Eve together as before. These changes made me felt so helpless and disappointed.

Today is the first day of Chinese New Year, but I still cannot feel any of the holiday atmosphere. Before I came to Chicago, I had a lot of fun at the first day of Chinese New Year. For instance, my family would get up more earlier than other days because we had to meet our parents and family and say “happy new year and have a health body in a new year” which is a common greeting in my country. After that, we would get red-packets from my parents and my family. These convey best wishes for us, and are for children only. In general, my mom would make some of sweet Chinese rice dumplings in the morning for breakfast for all of us. The sweet rice dumplings signify a good beginning in a new year. Eating sweet rice dumpling is common in my family. After we ate the sweet rice dumpling together, we would choose activities to have fun. I liked to hang out with my friends and shop or see some funny show together, such as the dragon and lion dance which is the traditional activity at Chinese New Year in China. I was so happy to hang out and enjoy the day with my friends together. However, Chicago is not the same, and the holiday has changed. This year, I did not gone out or enjoy the New Year with my friends. My mother did not made the Chinese rice dumpling for us in the morning as well, because she has to work and has no vacation for the Chinese New Year. Even though the Chinese New Year is still very important for us, my parents have no time to make the rice dumpling or do the celebrations as we did before. However, they still give me red-packets and wish me a good new year. I realized that I miss the feeling and atmosphere of Chinese New Year in China it just cannot be replicated.

The Chinese New Year is one of the most important festivals in China, and it is one of my favorite festivals. This year, I got many New Year’s congratulations messages from my friends and I felt so delighted. When I talked with my friend who lives in New York, and I asked her what she was going to do for celebrations of Chinese New Year. she said “I have no time to celebrate it, because I still need to work in this week.” In fact, Chicago is a city with a significant Chinese population,but it still does not have any atmosphere because most Chinese people have no vacations or time to celebrate it with their family. In fact, they are missing all the feelings and activities of the Chinese New Year in China just like me.

On the Chinese New Year’s Eve, I was reminded of a conversation with my best friend who lives in China . She asked me“Does the Chinese New Year have any atmosphere in Chicago? What are you going to do for celebration?” At that moment, I felt very bad, helpless, and disappointed. I had nothing to say. Before I came to Chicago, I always thought maybe I could have a foreign Chinese New Year celebration in Chicago. I was so looking forward to it and it was one of the best ways to make me feel happy when I left my friends and family. I remembered my mother’s words “Everything will not be the same forever; it will change over time.” Despite these changes, I am still willing to do my best to keep this most important festival no matter where I live or how difficult it will be because I love Chinese New Year.