Celebrating Asian Canadian Identity in the Year of the Snake
Happy Lunar New Year!
Gong hei fat choi! 新年快乐! 새해 복 많이 받으세요! Chúc mừng Năm Mới!
As we welcome the Year of the Snake, I am sending my warmest wishes and blessings to all who celebrate this event.
This Lunar New Year in my household we’re continuing a tradition of sending red envelopes with my daughter to school, which she will pass out to her friends and classmates. These envelopes contain “lucky candy,” a small but symbolic gesture meant to bring sweetness and good fortune as the new year begins. In addition, we’ve included a children’s book about Lunar New Year for the class, so that her peers can learn more about the customs and significance of this important celebration.
For us, this is about more than just sharing treats or stories—it’s about building bridges. By introducing her classmates to these traditions, we hope to foster understanding and appreciation for our culture while inviting others to participate in its joy.
Even more importantly, it’s also about ensuring my daughter feels connected to her heritage and takes pride in her identity as a Chinese Canadian.
When I see my daughter’s excitement at sharing red envelopes with her friends and classmates, I feel incredibly moved at her joyful ownership of her Chinese Canadian identity. She feels no shame at bringing attention to her Asian-ness at school, and does not feel the need to distance from or deny this part of who she is.
This is such a stark contrast to my own experiences growing up, and the experiences of many other Asian Canadians. For us, expressing our Asian heritage was often fraught with tension or fear. Asian traditions and culture could be seen as strange, nerdy, weird, or gross. Bringing homemade Asian food to school could invite ridicule. Wearing traditional clothing for Lunar New Year might draw stares, taunts, or even outright insults. For many Asian Canadians, it led to a complicated relationship with our cultural identity in which being proud of our background could be difficult. Pride in our heritage was often overshadowed by the need to blend in or avoid unwanted scrutiny. Such experiences of racism, discrimination, and rejection of our culture can lead to challenges with mental health.
Fast forward nearly 40 years, and it’s incredible to witness the shift in how Asian culture is represented and embraced today. From the global domination of BTS and Blackpink to the widespread popularity of K-beauty, Korean dramas, and other facets of Asian culture, representation has come a long way. Seeing Shang-Chi, Marvel’s first Asian superhero, or watching Crazy Rich Asians on the big screen were watershed moments that I never imagined as a child.
Yet, this progress exists alongside persistent challenges. Sinophobia and anti-Asian racism remain a significant concern, and they remind us that acceptance and understanding is tenuous and still a work in progress.
So, as we celebrate this Lunar New Year, I hold onto hope—not just for good fortune in the year ahead, but for continued strides toward a future where Asian Canadians and all children of immigrants can experience uncompromised pride and celebration in who we are.
Wishing you all a joyous and prosperous Year of the Snake!
If you are interested in beginning therapy to explore your identity and experiences as an Asian Canadian or child of immigrants, please reach out.
