DRAGONS DANCE IN THE RAIN

The dragon danced in the rain this weekend at the annual Chinese Lunar New Year parade.  It was appropriate because this was the celebration for the year of the water dragon.  In spite of the icy drizzle, the streets of Chinatown were crowded with spectators who came to enjoy the festivities.  Lions performed their good luck rituals in front of merchant’s shops and exploding firecrackers filled the street with clouds of smoke. 

 Chinatown Gateway

I found a good vantage point near the Chinatown Gateway across from the notorious Shanghai Alley.  The vantage point had some nostalgia for me, because on that corner is the Sam Kee  Building which Ripley titled “the world’s narrowest building’ where, back in the 1950’s my husband and I were invited to celebrate the Chinese New Years with the proprietor and his friends.  At that time it was a jewelry shop with living quarters above, barely wide enough for a sofa in the main room and under Pender street in the proprietor’s rec room tables were set up with mahjong games and expensive bottles of whiskey. I’ve never forgotten that fascinating evening.

Sam Kee Building

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Vancouver has one of the largest Chinatowns in North America. Besides the many fascinating shops there are many designated heritage buildings and intriguing stories behind the history of this area. The Millennium Chinatown Gateway entrance across Pender St. was built as a testament to the early Chinese's struggles and triumphs. 

 Lion Dancers

The Lunar New Year parade is a colourful display of the Chinese culture from the lion and dragon dances, traditional performances believed to scare off evil spirits and summon good fortune.  Colourful flags fluttered above the parade of men and beautiful young women dressed in traditional costumes. A variety of bands played, from bag-pipes to a Chinese youth marching band and Vancouver’s familiar Carnival Band decked out in funny costumes. Red envelopes filled with candy were handed out to the bystanders, a tribute to the lei see, traditionally filled with money and given out on holidays as a sign of blessing.

Vancouver has one of North America’s largest Chinese communities. In the late 1890's early Chinese immigrants settled in an area known as Shanghai Alley and Canton Alley. These two alleys were the site of a vibrant nightlife, an opera house, shopping and political and cultural activities. A panel featuring some prominent Chinese people and places depicts the history of the alleys. The West Han Dynasty Bell, unearthed in Guangzhou, China in 1983 is located in Shanghai Alley.  The bell, weighing just under a tonne, was a gift from the City of Guangzhou to Vancouver in honour of the 15th anniversary of the twinning of the two cities.

Dragon Dancers

Balloon Dragon

Parasol Dragon

At the turn of the 20th century, Chinatown prospered as Chinese merchants invested in property extending Chinatown east along Pender St. to Gore St.  Today the “Silk Road Route” is marked clearly with colourful banners and road signs making it easy for a self-guided walking tour. You’ll see some interesting heritage buildings along the route. At the end of Keefer and Columbia streets the Monument of Canadian Chinese has been erected to commemorate historic achievements of Canadian Chinese.

Pretty Ladies

Dragon bearers

Children

Although most of today's Chinese residents live outside of the downtown core, Chinatown's centre is still a busy, interesting hub, situated around the Chinese Cultural Centre on Pender Street marked by a beautiful arch. Be sure and visit the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park and Gardens located just behind the cultural centre.

There’s a lot of interesting stores where you can browse, buy souvenirs and even purchase Chinese antiques. To celebrate the New Year the shops were gaily decked in red and gold banners and lanterns. There’s an abundance of  traditional Chinese medicine shops, grocery stores with colourful arrays of veggies, herbs, dried fish, fresh poultry, meat and seafood, tea shops and bakeries.

Ladies riding horses

The rain didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for this annual event. After the parade ended my friend and I went into the shopping mall and warmed up with a bowl of hot soup at the food court.  The parade crowd moved indoors too and filled the mall, where entertainment was provided on a small stage. The Chinese New Years celebrations had started a week ago and ended this weekend with the annual parade.  Even the grey skies didn’t stop people from flocking to Chinatown to enjoy this fun multicultural event.

Gung Hay Fat Choy: Happy New Year!

CHRISTMAS IN THE MOUNTAINS

I spent this Christmas in Salmon Arm, a beautiful little town tucked below the mountains, straddling the shores of Lake Shuswap.  My family members are skiers and snowboarders so one day we went on an excursion to the Silver Star Mountain Resort, a special treat for me even though I'm not a skier.

I'd been to Silver Star a couple of times in the past but only during the summer.  This time it was truly a 'winter wonderland'. It's a pretty village with Victorian-style houses painted pastel colours. There's a number of shops and eateries there and it isn't as high-end and expensive as some other resorts, such as Whistler, on the Coast.

I spent the day strolling the village and checking out the shops while the family skied.  There is 3,066 acres of hills with ski runs, and 12 lifts. There's very much a family atmosphere here and the slopes were teeming with family groups.  For the youngsters, there's a Kid's Zone where they can play on their own and have ski lessons while mom and dad tackle the steeper slopes. I saw one tiny fellow, couldn't have been more than two, on a wee pair of skis, being guided along by his grandparents.  And lots of children skiing on their own or being pulled in sleds.

If you've never been skiing there before you can take some tours to acquaint yourself with the mountain.  Free tours leave from the centre of the village every morning and afternoon. There are also Nordic XC Camps held on the mountain and heli-skiing from the village. If you want to spend your holidays there there are plenty of accommodations. (www.skisilverstar.com)

The 'boarder and the skier, Mike & Alex

BURNABY HERITAGE VILLAGE: CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS IN THE 1920'S STYLE

Inside the Jesse Love farmhouse at the Burnaby Heritage Village, the scene is set for a merry Christmas celebration.  Decorations are aglow, a tall fir tree stands in the living room decorated with handmade ornaments, and a tableau of carollers dressed in original clothing gather around the piano ready to sing in a carolling diorama.

All around the village, there is a Christmas spirit.  Inside the Seaforth School, the children have decorated the room in traditional '20's style and a docent in period costume lectures a group of visiting  children on etiquette and school-room manners. ( A young boy sat down on a bench and was scolded because "you don't sit down when the girls or women are standing!" )

The Burnaby Village Museum gives visitors a chance to experience things the way they were back in the 1920's.  The ten acre heritage village is decorated in the 1920s stile, shop windows are full of seasonal goodies and costumed townsfolk welcome visitors into their homes and shops.

At the blacksmiths shop,  the smithy is busy working while a group of school kids watch.  And in the print store, a woman gives a demonstration of how the old printing presses worked.

The Blacksmith Shop

The construction of the heritage village began back in 1971.  The Century Park Museum Association was formed to govern the Heritage Village.  The museum opened in November 1971with a blacksmith shop, buggy and bicycle shop, general store, land office, school house, manor house, ice cream parlour, apothecary shop, barber shop, dentist shop, Chinese general imports shop, print shop and a tram. It first opened for visitors in July 1972, described as a depiction of the 1890- 1920 era of the lower mainland. It was known as the Heritage Village until 1984 when it became the Burnaby Village Museum.  It has expanded to 9 acres allowing the construction of an administration building to house collections and staff offices.

The annual Heritage Christmas event is a great opportunity to experience Christmas traditions as they were in the old days as well as learning their origins.  There are activities for children and families and lots to see and do.  I love browsing the shops, especially the general store, where there are items on display that I remember from my childhood on the Prairies (the galvanized tubs like the one my mom melted snow in on the old stove for our Saturday baths, the old telephone that you operated with a crank!)

In the window of the Bakery you'll see cookie tins with the faces of old British Kings.  And the Way Sang Yuen Wat Kee herb shop displays cases of weird dried herbs and bones and an assortment of strange herbal remedies. 

Inside the old Church, there's a touch of Latin America, with a duo playing "Feliz Navidad".  I visit the old interurban tram next, remembering how I used to ride the tram from school.  It operated from 1912 until the late '50's.  The car has been restored with elegant brass hardware and cherry and oak wood interior.

Probably one of the most fun places at the Village is the old carousel.  This 1912 carousel is fully restored. It used to operate in the PNE grounds years ago. I loved riding it.  Now I can ride it at the Village (and it goes fast too!) accompanied by the music of a restored 1925 Wurlitzer Military band.

You can read more about Christmas at the Burnaby Village Museum on Travel Thru History,
www.travelthruhistory.com

Santa Claus visits the Village daily from 1.20 - 4.30 and 5.30 to 7.30 to December 23 . 
For general opening hours: www.burnabyvillagemuseum.ca

DEFILING A GODDESS' IMAGE

ATHENA



A German magazine  is on trial in Athens because they published an image of the goddess Athena making a rude gesture.  The charges is 'defamation'.  The publisher of Focus, a weekly magazine, and twelve of its journalists had been accused of insulting a national symbol. The cover of the magazine's February 2010 issue depicted Athena, draped in a Greek flag, raising her middle finger in a rude gesture with the caption " Cheats in the European family."  This offended the Greeks and a group of Greek lawyers launched a law suit.

The Greeks are very defensive of their ancient symbols and treat them reverently.  In museums you are not allowed to pose beside statues as this is considered irreverent.  In archaeological sites like Delphi, considered to be the centre of the earth, there are strict regulations as to behavior, loud music, etc within the sacred areas.  So, just as the Muslims took offence when a Danish cartoonist poked fun at Mohammad,  the Greeks are not amused by this 'defamation' of their chief goddess, and patron 'saint' of their city Athens.

Who was Athena?  She as the daughter of Zeus and was born full-grown and in full armor, springing from his head. (With no help from a mother). When Homer wrote about her in The Iliad, he portrayed her as a fierce and ruthless battle-goddess, but elsewhere is is only warlike when she is defending the State and the home from enemies.  Athena was pre-eminently the Goddess of the City, the protector of civilized life, of handicrafts and agriculture; the inventor of the bridle, who first tamed horses for men to use.  She was Zeus's favorite child. He trusted her to carry the aegis, his buckler and his devastating weapon, the thunderbolt.  She is often described as "grey-eyed" or "flashing-eyed".  Of the three virgin goddesses she was the chief.  They called her the Maiden, Parthenos, and her temple was known as the Parthenon. 

THE PARTHENON

She is extolled by poets as the embodiment of wisdom, reason, and purity.  Athens was her special city.  She created the olive and the olive tree is her symbol, the owl her bird.

ATHENA'S OWL

On the Acropolis, between the Parthenon and the Erechtheion are ruins dating back to pre-Persian invasion time, which are believed to be the original Temple of Athena (possibly from about 529 BC)  In ancient times there was a large statue of Athena on this site made of chryselephantine and gold that could be seen from a distance. 

Athena dominated the city then, and she is still very much the favored goddess of the city.  So when the prosecution and defence lawyers of the German magazine appealed to have the charges of defamation dropped, the Greek judges rejected them. The charges carry a maximum two-year prison sentence.

AN AUTUMN WEEKEND ON MAYNE ISLAND, B.C.

At least once a year our writer's group spends a weekend on beautiful Mayne Island, one of the Gulf Islands in Georgia Straight between the mainland and Vancouver Island. We've been going there now for nearly 20 years, almost every year. This past weekend was a special time for us as we gathered to honour the memory of one of our dear friends who passed away this summer. We wanted to do all the things she enjoyed and one of them was walking in the woods and along the shores of the island.



There are a many places to visit on Mayne Island.  One of them is Campbell Point.  The morning was overcast and the sea looked gray and stormy but soon the sun came out .... and stayed...for the rest of the weekend.

A favorite excursion is to the Japanese Gardens  It was built in memory of the Japanese farmers who used to live and work on the island until they were interned at the outbreak of WWII.  The garden features ponds, bridges, a waterfall, torii gates and an authentic recreation of a Japanese charcoal kiln.

We love to go to the Garden to browse and write haiku.  It's a place to meditate and enjoy nature.  The gardens are maintained by volunteers and there's a little box where you can leave donations for the upkeep of the gardens.

One of the pretty fountains

Cross the bridge to the little islet surrounded by the pond.  There were still some flowers blooming and even bees buzzing around them.

Farther around on the path beside the pond a lone heron stands guard. (This is just a stone heron but it looks so real!)

And there were bright red crab apples growing in the trees.  (a bit to sour to eat!)

This was a lovely time to visit the island with all the brilliant autumn colours.



On another day we drove to the Georgina Point Lighthouse at Oyster Bay.

This is a historic lighthouse built in 1885, overlooking the Strait of Georgia.

 

It's always fun to explore around this area.  You can watch the ferries sail by on their way from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay.

There are many other places of interest on Mayne Island with hiking trails to Mt. Parke or along the many scenic beaches.  If you want to kayak or canoe there are rentals available, as well as bikes for cyclists.  If it's shopping and art that interests you, there are crafts shops and boutiques as well as artist studios.  Check out the Mayne Island visitor's website to find out more about the island including the many island accommodations and activities.   www.mayneislandchamber.ca

We always stay at the Blue Vista Resort www.bluevistaresort.com

And be sure to check out the Springwater Lodge for great meals.  Sit on the deck in nice weather and enjoy the scenery of Miner's Bay.  This is the oldest lodge on the coast, built to accommodate men on their way to seek their fortunes in the mines at the turn of the century.

Evening over the Straits