Over two weeks, cell groups meet all over the island to celebrate the Chinese New Year with yu sheng parties, City News catches one in action.
Yu sheng, a simple, yet significant Chinese salad dish, plays an important role during the Chinese New Year festivities. It reportedly originated in Southern China, where it is believed that a hungry couple had made a meal out of fresh carp and some vinegar, and that became the yu sheng of their time. Today, the various components are arranged on a large serving plate and tossed together by diners, as they loudly recite Chinese homonyms to declare prosperity and health for the year ahead.
In view of celebrating the vibrant festive season, several pastoral zones in CHC have been conducting yu sheng parties over the two-week-long festive season.
On Feb. 7, 2010, Roland Seafood Restaurant welcomed over 500 individuals; both new friends and family alike, to share and appreciate an afternoon of well-wishes, fellowship and music.
After a rowdy game that had participants in stitches, it was time for the lo hei—the tossing of the yu sheng. Once tossed, the diners served portions to each other, in appreciation of one other.
While enjoying the yu sheng and a tantalizing five-course lunch, the audience was treated to a live performance by Linus Lee, a professional jazz keyboardist.
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| CN PHOTOS: Gay Sen Min | |
Jeremy Choy, a zone supervisor, felt the event was meaningful in many ways.“What has happened here today symbolizes
a ‘spiritual reunion’ between our members and new friends before the actual reunion between our families and relatives. In this setting, we as a spiritual family are also sharing our blessings and well wishes with each other!”
Derek Dunn, executive pastor, said that for him, Chinese New Year is a time to get away from the busy-ness of life and spend time with relatives. He is married to Singaporean, Susan Ong, and they have three children.
“As an American, celebrating Chinese New Year is like celebrating Thanksgiving in the US. It is great to see that we can get together in a non-religious setting such as this to have good fun and bonding.”
