Celebration: The dragon awakens

18 February 2015 - 02:30 By Ufrieda Ho
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FIREBRAND: A dragon dance in celebration of the Chinese New Year in Cyrildene, Johannesburg
FIREBRAND: A dragon dance in celebration of the Chinese New Year in Cyrildene, Johannesburg
Image: LAUREN MULLIGAN/GALLO IMAGES

Johannesburg has the unusual distinction of being a city with two Chinatowns - but unusual is good when it translates into two Chinese New Year celebrations.

It's double the reason to enjoy the food, fireworks and celebrations that signal the dawn of the Year of the Goat tomorrow.

First up are celebrations in ''First Chinatown" along Commissioner Street on Saturday.

First Chinatown is where many Chinese, mostly Cantonese migrants, settled in the gold rush of the late 1880s.

This was the Malay quarter of early Johannesburg: Chinatown in Cantonese is still called malaai gum.

Today it's a place that mirrors the evolution of migrant communities - the children and grandchildren of early shopkeepers, general dealers and restaurant owners have moved on through the decades, assimilated into the blur of life.

But the annual celebrations in First Chinatown mark reunion, homecoming and reconnection as the Chinese community and Johannesburgers gather to celebrate the most auspicious date on the Chinese lunar calendar.

The tiny block and a half will be cordoned off and cheered up with red lanterns. By sunset, tables set up on the pavements will groan with eight-course feasts full of symbolic meanings of abundance, joy, prosperity and all things good and tasty for a new year.

Eight is lucky because the word for eight sounds like the word faat, which means to prosper.

Expect dishes of prawns called har because it's a homonym for laughter - ha, ha; oysters, called ho see, which means happy occasions, sea moss called faat choi welcomes prosperity and whole fish, called yu, is served because the word sounds like abundance.

Even if you don't have a booking, there will be stalls selling meals and snacks.

From 6pm, singers, dancers, kung fu demonstrations and the much-loved dragon and lion dances will take to the streets.

The lion makes its way from store to store setting off strands of firecrackers (noisy bangs are meant to ward off bad spirits).

The lion receives lucky lei see at each store. These red packets, filled with gifts of money, are strung alongside a head of lettuce. Lettuces, called saang choi, are used because it's a homonym for "life". A fireworks display rounds off the festivities at 9pm.

One week later, on February 28, it will be the turn of Cyrildene Chinatown. The two arches on either side of Derrick Avenue mark the main drag of this Chinatown where festivities will take place.

This Chinatown has been home to newer migrants from across China since the mid-1990s. Thousands of kilometres from the motherland, the community here will celebrate with feasting and fireworks.

It's a second chance to say happy new year - or sun nien fai lok.

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