A not-so-Chinese New Year(2)

We also had duck meat, wine, fruit and assorted nuts while we watched the Spring Festival Gala. I couldn't understand everything since my Chinese is only so-so, but I thought some of the cross-talk sketches were funny. Then at midnight, we watched the fireworks from their balcony. It was very beautiful, and they seemed to go on forever.

I remember one year, I was in a cab when the clock struck midnight announcing the arrival of the Chinese New Year. I told the cab driver, "Happy New Year!" He told me he did not have any family or anyone to celebrate with, so he didn't mind working that night. I felt very sad for him, so when he offered me a cigarette, I accepted, even though I don't smoke and I had never smoked before.

This year was different. We were moved by the fact that the local family wanted us to be a part of their intimate celebration. It gave me a better idea of what goes on in a Chinese household on Chinese New Year's Eve.

Gabriela Filipovici

41, Romania, marketing manager at Beijing Hongyitang Hospital of TCM

I came to Beijing in January 1994 after I married my Chinese husband in Romania. So this is the 21st Spring Festival for me and my family here.

Usually, we organize a reunion dinner at our home with some foreign friends to spend Chinese New Year together. For years, we cooked Chinese food, but we soon realized that every family cooked the same dishes.

We wanted to be different, so we started to cook some international cuisine, in addition to cooking dumplings, watching the Spring Festival Gala, and playing mahjong.

This year was a little bit different. My mother-in-law didn't feel so well, so we went to her home and celebrated only with the family. But on February 24, I invited some Romanian friends to our home for lunch. We had roast mutton, roast duck with red wine sauce, and many vegetable dishes.

On other days over the holidays, we took gifts to the houses of our friends and their parents. It is a tradition to give fruit and wine, but I noticed that as a result, our friends often end up with so much fruit and wine that they don't know what to do with it.

So I tried to buy something which I think they will need and like, such as toys, sweets, clothes or hongbao.

Andrea Mella

30, Chile, CCTV Spanish channel editor

What I most enjoy about Spring Festival in Beijing are the temple fairs. You can experience authentic Chinese culture there, such as local operas from all over the country, traditional dragon and lion dancing performances, folk handicraft, and traditional Chinese food. You can feel the joy of Chinese people.

My favorite is the Ditan Temple Fair. Every year, the temple fair ticket is printed with one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. I would like to collect all 12, so I have to stay in Beijing for another six years! Every year, I also take pictures with that year's animal mascot for good luck.

I've shared my love of temple fairs with other foreigners who have no idea about them. Since last year, I've been organizing free monthly walking tours around Beijing to show the city to other Spanish speakers to help them understand more about Chinese history and culture. In February, I organized several trips to the Dongyue Temple Fair. Dongyue is known for its traditional activities.

Chinese New Year for Chinese people is like Christmas for Westerners - a time for family reunion.

They have the same spirit.

Stefan Schober

31, Germany, co-owner of Q-Mex Mexican Bar & Grill

My Chinese wife's family usually celebrates Chinese New Year at home with hot pot, dumplings, baijiu, and the Spring Festival Gala. I've now had the pleasure of experiencing this tradition a few times, although it is still new to me.

For this Spring Festival, I wanted to share these traditions from my Chinese family with other foreigners in my restaurant. So we held a party at our restaurant which included food and drinks, a live DJ, fireworks at midnight, and of course, the Spring Festival Gala. We also served dumplings but with Mexican characteristics - they were filled with Mexican chorizo and cheese topped with chipotle tomato sauce. We filled one out of every five dumplings only with corn, and whoever got the corn-stuffed dumplings received a voucher for a free drink or food from our restaurant. We had around 180 customers that night, most of whom were foreigners. It was a real blast. I felt pretty great that we could infuse the traditional Chinese New Year with Mexican characteristics and share it with other expats in the city.

I also really enjoyed relaxing and having extra time to be with my family during the holidays. A lot of people go back to their hometowns, so Beijing becomes quiet.

The texts above were compiled and edited from longer interviews