Are you scared? Have you been awoken by the sirens, or the silence that seems to be even more threatening? I fear a lot, and I feel guilty that I fear. It’s a privilege for us to be worrying about boredom, to sit at home inactively, to read the headlines without thought of what’s to happen with our jobs. But it’s purposeless to feel scared, and worse, to be ashamed of it. To combat this struggle, I’ve tasked myself with the responsibility to build an online community through Chinese Holidays. You may think Chinese holidays – structured get-togethers based off of unification and intimacy – can barely sustain social distancing orders and deprived pantries. After all, the kitchen of your grandparent’s apartment doesn’t expand farther than six feet. This movement redefines how we celebrate; wherever you are, whoever you are, even if day’s old lo mein is the only product sitting in your refrigerator, we can celebrate together. Now more than ever, we confide in our internet friends for laughs and a sense of intimacy that reaches beyond the screen.
The Celebrate Together Movement will not force you to make an elaborate Chinese New Year Meal in mid-April, wrap homemade dumplings involving certain levels of dexterity (you already failed at crocheting), construct elegant Zi Fu buns personifying zodiac animals (Animal Crossing didn’t look too good for you). The movement does not shame you for sitting at home and accomplishing nothing. In fact, the movement celebrates it. Even reading a post will contribute, pulling out the old flour bags and baking soda mixtures is doing something: no matter what you do, participating in this community is an act of celebration.
Suddenly faced with a lot extra time from online school and meager physical activity, I’ve poured and will pour my heart out onto this blog by posting recipes and stories more frequently, whether the festival is near or not. We find so much comfort and normalcy in the simple acts of learning and immersing ourselves in a topic foreign to us. Please share this movement with your surrounding community, whether for a source of Chinese history, food recipes, or just some laughs. It will really better some one’s day to feel that they play a role in this online community. So let’s do what we do best: nothing at all.
Holidays All Year Round 