As I approach every Maine winter, I ponder how to “make the best of it”, knowing there are several frosty months ahead. Since the Lunar New Year doesn’t arrive until late January or February, making goals keeps me motivated and gives me some glimmers of enjoyment. I typically convince myself I will learn how to knit, make creative meals in my slow cooker, learn Mandarin, and do some cross-country skiing, just to name a few. It’s a similar list every single winter.
And then as we approach Lunar New Year, I start preparing for my Lucky Bamboo Crafts events and celebrations with friends. Life gets increasingly busy and my efforts are all focused around Chinese culture, food and crafts. These rituals warm my soul even while needing to bundle up, and bring me joy during what can be a long, bleak season in Maine when you stay put.
This lunar year’s mythical dragon is a wood element, and is identified with strength and good fortune, rising above all the other zodiac animals. Thanks, perhaps, to the dragon’s unleashed power I had a string of experiences and occasions with an especially auspicious quality. Schedule, weather, friendship, and fun all seemed to be in my favor. And my craft designs fell into place easily, with so much dragon-themed art already in my illustration archive.
I kicked it all off by hosting my annual little dinner party on Lunar New Year’s Eve. I think my hospitality was probably more notable than my cooking abilities, but having friends around my table, and my home festooned in red and gold was a perfect way to launch the holiday. And guests went home with a lantern garland gift along with their hongbao.
My first seasonal craft date was Love Weekend in the MakerSpace at Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine where we had a dual celebration of crafts for Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day. As always, the staff was beautifully prepared, and such great company. Every time I visit that museum, I pinch myself at what a stunning, tremendous addition it is in the Portland Thompson’s Point area for young and old visitors.
Our local Falmouth Middle School holds an annual school-wide cultural celebration and I was so pleased to be invited by the library staff this year to give an author talk. I shared some Lunar New Year traditions while guiding crafts (of course!). I felt a little rusty since my classroom teaching days were so long ago, and now I had all those 6th-grader sets of eyes on me. But it was the last period before their winter vacation, so although I could take no credit for the amiable mood, it worked to my benefit and I could do no wrong.
Boston Chinatown was my next destination, and the excitement was in the air. I’ve been attending this Chinatown Main Street event in the China Trade Center for enough years now that I have annual families who come looking for me! It’s a great feeling and motivates me to bring a good array of different crafts each year. Nothing compares with being in Chinatown, and on the sparkling, mild day with Mayor Wu making the remarks, the crowds seemed the largest in several years, enjoying the events, lion dances, restaurants, and fireworks.
I wrapped up my event schedule with the CAFAM Lunar New Year celebration in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. It fell on the Lantern Festival holiday, always the last day of Lunar New Year, which offered a perfect bookend with the full day of speakers, food, crafts, activities and (yet another) stunning performance by Chinese Folk Art Workshop. The kids loved being invited on stage after the show to meet the performers almost as much as the performance, itself!
So circling back, I can report I did end up finding some winter diversions…. no knitting but I constructed those cute aforementioned lantern garlands. No winter slow cooker (although better-late-than-never corned beef and cabbage is simmering now), but I’ve been testing the new air fryer that my family gave me for Christmas. No great Mandarin progress, but I was able to enjoy social environments where Mandarin was spoken and I could hope for osmosis, and no skiing (well, surely the lack of New England snow this year is not my fault), but I did skate a few blissful loops on our local ice.
Now we are talking spring. My beautiful daughter will celebrate her 22nd birthday soon and will be graduating from college. I am meeting wonderful people through my advocacy work to help get through these tough months of national politics and increasing world conflict. And yes, I will continue to feed my creativity by designing more cultural crafts, while also getting my hand back with some painting in gouache. Art has always been a soothing antidote for stress and worry, and I feel I have some ideas I need to bring to life. The full symphony of the new season will not arrive in Maine for a few more weeks but I’ve seen some green nubs and a couple of bright crocuses poking up in my yard. A tiny whisper that there are good things to come.
