Year of the Ram: Chinese New Year Feature
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Where to Shop for Chinese New Year

By Gerrye Wong | Special to AsianWeek

Although most second and third generation Chinese Americans have become totally westernized living in the United States, there seems to be a bond that we feel every Chinese New Year, when cultural customs become important to us.

For those of us multi-generation Chinese Americans who want to enrich our own family lives and introduce sometimes long-lost customs and traditions to our children, let’s take a shopping trip to equip us to celebrate this Year of the Ram.

Our search begins at the Man-U Imports Company of San Mateo, a treasure trove of Chinese items for New Year or any occasion. Name any item you connect with China, and chances are that proprietor Frank Jang has got it, along with a fountain of knowledge about its use, origin and history.

When queried about Chinese New Year items, Jang and his charming wife Edwina brought me in to see Man-U’s Chinese New Year display, filled with colorful parade-size lion heads, cherry blossoms, exotic fruits, candies and sweets and altars with many gods. In the background special Chinese New Year music could be heard .

Tray of Togetherness

Catching my eye and rekindling my memories was Man-U Imports’ red cinnabar sweetmeat tray. Sometimes called the “tray of the eight immortals,” the candy tray is arranged in either a circle or octagon and has a dazzling array of candy to start the New Year sweetly. Filled with various foods, this “tray of togetherness” symbolizes wishes for the future to welcome guests and relatives who drop by. Man-U’s tray was made of a rich red lacquered cinnabar, carved with delicate designs, a most attractive addition for any Chinese family to pass to future generations, and is priced at $495 this year.

Trays of porcelain, wood and even practical, disposable plastic can also be found. Some Asian grocery stores carry inexpensive plastic trays already filled with symbolic foods. Some of the foods that represent good fortune are candied melon (for growth and good health), melon seed (dyed red for joy, happiness, truth and sincerity), kumquat (gold for prosperity), coconut (for togetherness), peanuts (for long life), longnan (for many good sons) and lotus seed (for fertility).

Often visitors during the New Year holiday take several pieces of candy from the tray, and then place a red envelope on the center compartment of the tray. In olden times, and in modified form in America, families go door-to-door exchanging New Year greetings with relatives and neighbors, partaking of sweetmeats and other hot foods and giving red envelopes to the young people of the family.

Red Envelopes of Good Wishes

The red envelopes which Jang cheerfully showed us sell for only about $1.50 for a small bundle, and should be filled with money to represent a wish for good fortune and wealth in the coming year. The money may also be used to pay off debts, thus allowing a financial clean slate for the new year, a must for beginning the new year right.

Red envelopes are always a child’s delight, and they certainly are an incentive for obedient Chinese children to smile and speak to all New Year’s visitors, no matter how bashful they feel.

THREE IMMORTAL GODS

My in-laws always placed the three immortal household gods in a prominent place of honor in their home, so I was pleased to see that Man-U carried beautiful porcelain ($225 a set) or bronze ($7.95 per set) statues of the three immortals. The three immortals are Fuk, Luk and Shou. Though they are seldom worshipped as religious figures, their presence is thought to bring very good luck indeed, and as a result every Chinese family used to want to have these figures in their home.

The wealth of Chinese items in Man-U’s large showroom was mind-boggling, but here are some other items to decorate your home for Chinese New Year. Red and gold lanterns, made of paper ($1.95 – $4.95) or silk ($3 – $30) are often hung in Chinese homes, as they symbolize an abundance of money, friends and children. They are also said to usher in light and warmth after a cold winter, and help the gods to see us. Large dragon heads ($225) could decorate many a home, much to the delight, I am sure, of the children who would like to play-act with them. Cloisonne rams and sheep, made in the 1940s ($795-$1500), would be a nice conversation piece in any home this Year of the Ram, especially if someone in the family was born in a ram year.

Festive Chinese clothing of all colors is fun for children and even adults to wear during Chinese New Year parties. Many of the silk and brocade items flooding the stores of San Francisco’s Chinatown are made in China. Matching slippers and silk purses, and even cell phone holders are available in attractive silk fabric. Any of these worn to a Chinese New Year party is sure to bring attention and admiration to the wearer, who might proudly proclaim that not only is she wearing something “made in China” but she qualifies for that label herself.

Man-U Imports is located at 980 S. Amphlett Blvd., San Mateo, Calif. For more information call 650-343-9000 or go to www.manuimports.com.