| Last updated at 12:31 AM on 02/02/09 |
Chinese community celebrates Year of the Ox 
EDITORIAL STAFF
The Guardian
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| A choir performs Saturday during the Chinese New Year of the Ox celebrations in Charlottetown. The 2009 Melody of P.E.I. Spring was hosted by the Canadian Chinese Association of P.E.I. Besides dancing, the crowd enjoyed singing, drama, solos on traditional instruments and lots of food. Approximately 500 Chinese and 100 others attended the event. Guardian photo by Brian McInnis |
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When Hung-Min Chiang and his wife, Mei-Chih Chiang, came to Prince Edward Island in 1967 so he could teach psychology at what was then Saint Dunstan’s University, the small Chinese community consisted of teachers or restaurateurs who came from Hong Kong or Canton.
Now that community has grown to more than 1,000 people and its members are from every corner of China and many walks of life.
The Chiangs were among more than 500 Chinese and about 100 others attending Chinese New Year’s celebrations at the Murphy Community Centre in Charlottetown Saturday.
They were treated to traditional music, dance, drama and food at the event that was sponsored by the Canadian Chinese Association of P.E.I.
When the Chiangs came to the Island, the Chinese community was small and even traditional food was not available so they had to purchase it from Toronto or Halifax. That community has grown, although Zhongyu Zhang, president of the Canadian Chinese Association, said the exact number is hard to determine because some immigrants stay for a time and then move on.
One interesting story Mrs. Chiang likes to tell is that she was Premier Robert Ghiz’s kindergarten teacher when he was five years old.
“He was a good boy. Smart and cute,” she says.
This is the Year of the Ox for the Chinese and is thought to be a sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work.
The ox is a power sign, like the rat, snake, dragon, tiger and monkey and are dependable and possess the ability to achieve great things, it is believed. Like their animal namesake, the ox is unswervingly patient, tireless and capable of enduring great hardships without complaint.
Traditionally, people born under the sign of the ox are thought to be kind, caring souls, logical, positive, filled with common sense and their feet planted firmly on the ground.
During the New Year’s celebrations people watched singers, dancers, musicians and a classroom drama.
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