Mandarin to Vancouver

The Lunar New Year Celebration is an important event for Asian-born and Asian immigrants alike as it maintains traditions, marks the beginning of a new year, and allows people to have a fresh start. “It is the most important celebration for the Chinese-speaking community. It's equivalent to Christmas in the West’s culture, bringing people together to see their family and friends” says Ms Jasmine Yang, Brentwood’s Mandarin teacher.

In order to teach students about this tradition, Ms Yang planned a trip to Vancouver’s Chinatown, preparing various events for her students such as a visit to the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden and a tour of Chinatown where we learned the history of Asian immigrants, the historic events encompassing Chinatown, and common traditions during the Lunar New Year.

At the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden we were given the extraordinary opportunity to partake in a private tour of the garden in which they learned about the customs and superstitions of the Lunar New Year such as Spring Cleaning and the Kitchen Gods. As a Canadian-born Asian, I never really understood the meaning behind the traditions my family did every Lunar New Year, but, this tour gave me a lot of insight into the culture I missed out on during my adolescence.

When we toured Vancouver’s Chinatown, we were taught about the history of Chinatown and Asian immigrants. Aislinge M, Allard ‘26, states “After learning about events such as the Anti-Asian Riots of 1907 and groups such as the Asiatic Exclusion League, I think Canada as a whole has progressed a lot since these events happened and [these] groups existed”. 

Everyone knows that the Lunar New Year has cultural and spiritual significance, however, how is it important to people personally? In order to answer this question I asked Ms Yang why celebrating the Lunar New Year is so important to her on a personal level. “I have not been able to celebrate the Lunar New Year with my family and friends for the past few years, so by doing these trips with the students, I feel reminded of home” states Ms Jasmine Yang. This shows that celebrating the Lunar New Year is important for Asian immigrants specifically because it allows them to reconnect with their culture and mitigate homesickness.

This trip to Vancouver’s Chinatown was an amazing experience for students to learn and have more hands-on experiences with Chinese culture. Daniel M, Privett ‘26 added “I enjoyed this trip more than the previous Mandarin Victoria trips because there was a lot more stuff to do. I thought the garden tour was pretty cool because the tour guide made it very fun and interactive”.

Thanks to Ms Yang for all her time and efforts in organizing this trip across the Salish Sea for our Mandarin class.

Christian M, Privett ‘25