Members of the Tatler community recall their favourite Chinese New Year traditions from childhood in this month’s edition of Time Travel
Stephanie Au, Melinda Zeman, Bonnae Gokson, Chantel Shafie, Maya Lin and Nancy Fung take a trip down memory lane. Read all about their favourite CNY traditions—from cooking traditional radish treats with the family to picking the perfect seasonal CNY flowers. These family traditions are sure to give you all the feels.
See also: Chinese New Year lai see etiquette
1. Melinda Zeman, Founder, Boochier jewellery label
“I moved from the UK to Hong Kong at the age of six and lived with my [Chinese] grandmother, who didn’t speak a word of English. As a young child, who didn’t speak a word of Cantonese at the time, I remember bonding with my grandmother over cooking and eating. One particular memory that sticks out was our annual CNY family gathering at the Jumbo Seafood Restaurant. The [recent] closing of this restaurant was especially sad for me, as it was a place that held so many of my best childhood memories. Almost every year, my family would gather at Jumbo—there were more than 100 of us—not just to celebrate each other, but also to celebrate how far we had come since my great-grandfather arrived in Hong Kong from [mainland] China with nothing but the clothes he was wearing. My cousins and I would dress head-to-toe in red, playing on the restaurant stage, which was adorned with gold dragons and phoenixes. My identity, character and even how I chose to raise my own family are so much determined by these formative years, and I am so grateful to have these incredible memories to cherish.”
