Scottish Hogmanay New Year + Asian Canadian style = Gung Haggis Fat Choy
What better way to celebrate Hogmanay, the Scottish New Year tradition, than by releasing the 2006 Gung Haggis Fat Choy poster?
The origin of Gung Haggis Fat Choy started when I was asked to participate in the 1993 Robbie Burns Day celebration at Simon Fraser University. In 1998, I decided to host a dinner for 16 guests that blended Robbie Burns Day(January 25th) with Chinese lunar New Year (late January to early February).
The result has been a dinner event that has grown steadily to a 2005 dinner of 600 guests, a CBC television special, an annual poetry night at the Vancouver Public Library, a recreation event at Simon Fraser University.... and media stories around the world!
Hogmanay is the Scottish New Year's Eve, and it is celebrated on New Year's Eve with a Grand Dinner. It can be very similar to Chinese New Year's in many ways:
1) Make lots of noise. Chinese like to burn firecrackers, bang drums and pots to scare the ghosts and bad spirits away. Scots will fire off cannons, sound sirens, bang pots and make lots of noise, I think just for the excuse of making noise.
2) Pay off your debts. Chinese like to ensure that you start off the New Year with no debts hanging onto your personal feng shui. I think the Scots do the same but especially to ensure that they aren't paying anymore interest.
3) Have lots of good food. Eat lots and be merry. Both Scots and Chinese enjoy eating, hosting their friends and visiting their friends.
4) Party on dude! In Asia, Chinese New Year celebrations will go on for days, lasting up to a week! Sort of like Boxing week sales in Canada. In Scotland, the Scots are proud partyers and are well known for making parties last for days on end.
Come to think about it... the above traditions can be found in many cultures... I guess the Scots and Chinese are more alike than different with lots of other cultures too!
