Monday February 8th will herald in the 4713th Chinese New Year.  The year of the Red Fire Monkey starts with a festival that 1/5 of the worlds population celebrates.  Billions of lucky red envelopes filled with money are exchanged and on the midnight hour, the worlds biggest annual fireworks usage commences.   If you are lucky enough to live near a big city with a large Asian population you should go and celebrate large, like I used to, and indulge in all the noise, food and festivity.  It is truly a carnival for the senses.

Back in New Jersey,  on occasion, I would join my Vietnamese friend at her family gathering, where I would eagerly consume interesting new foods, like colorful  fruit and grass flavored squares of jelly, exquisite tasting seemingly armored fruit that stunk like feet, sticky balls of who knows what and things with too many legs and eyeballs I could not name then or now.   Lucky red envelopes were passed out and Chuc Mung Nam Moi was wished for all.

I remember these times with great affection.  I think it is the essence and spice of life to experience that which is unfamiliar to you.   Dive into another way of life, through travel, foods, cultural events or simply by being lucky enough to have a friend of a different heritage.  That undiscovered world blossoms.

I have never been to Viet Nam.  I don’t know if I ever will.  I do, however, know how to cook a Vietnamese eggroll and to never, ever call it a spring roll.  I know that if you can crack into a Durian fruit and get past the horrific smell, there is an incredible taste waiting to be discovered.  I know that red beans prepared for dessert are amazing and that Lychees are one of my favorite foods of all time.  I know that you don’t need food coloring to color food you just need sugar, a pan, some water and a little finesse.  I know that your supposed to have five different fruits on your New Year altar, you should never sweep or throw anything outside the house on New Year and I know that children must give you a good wish before you pass them a red envelope.  I could go on and on.  Here is where the rich tapestry of life unfolds.  My kid knows how to make eggrolls.  She knows as much about cooking traditional Vietnamese New Year foods as I do.  Yesterday in the Asian market she reminded me that the egg roll wrappers with the pink Chinese characters on them were the ones we needed.   She remembered we had to go and find a Kohlrabi for the soup.   She is so excited to celebrate she drew a ton of red fire monkeys to display around the house and has actually been acting like a monkey for days now in preparation.

Everyone who wants to, can Google how to make a Vietnamese Egg Roll.  My friend, should I need Asian cooking assistance, is now a phone call away.  But I value learning the old school way.  Connecting with friends, trying new things, sharing experience and passing that on.  The richness of life exists from the people that we meet.  Sometimes, unknowingly, we are those people.  You don’t always see the threads of the tapestry until the larger picture emerges and one day in a small rural town in Alaska, one home is filled with silk cherry blossoms, mums and forsythias, kids run by trailing dragon masks with streamers, red envelopes filled with crisp new bills to be passed out and friends and family eagerly await to taste the spread of new foods.  Happy New Year.

Gong Hay Fat Choy/Chuc Mung Nam Moi