How do I celebrate my Chinese American Culture? (Satire)


How do I celebrate my Chinese American culture, you ask? What a fantastic question!
I celebrate the Lunar New Year by getting dressed up, checking out IG and Youtube for how do really pretty red-themed CNY makeup and then head over to Philadelphia's China Town to partake in the festivities. In Philly, I always love to see the lion dance with the firecrackers around the city, enjoy dim sum (and bubble tea), and catch up with some friends. My family and I have been going to China Town since I was small. I grew up in a very diverse neighborhood and public school district, so I was always very exposed to other cultures and didn't know this was something "special" or "unusual." Going to a tiny liberal arts college that's as diverse (intellectually and literally) as wonderbread has really made me appreciate my upbringing. Anyway, going to China Town is always really fun. My friends from high school have family who own some of the shops down there and I've seen the area transform, shutting down the Bazaar and opening this weirdly modernistic China Towne Center.

Some overly curious people who have no social grace may ask me to my face how can I possibly reconcile my culture with my American upbringing. 
To that, I will say that that is a very silly question. Many non-adoptees who have a culture (cough, cough, most people) are able to enjoy who they are without an existential crisis. Some of my Chinese American friends can hardly speak, write, or understand Mandarin, and eat hot pot for Christmas. Some have a Christmas tree and others don't. My Hindu Indian friends put up the Christmas tree and exchange gifts, but celebrate Easter. There are so many ways to celebrate culture in a multicultural country that there isn't a right or wrong way. Therefore, my way of celebrating American holidays (Thanksgiving, NY), some Christian holidays (Christmas and Easter), some Jewish holidays (Hannukah), and some Chinese holidays (CNY) is really not that unusual at all.


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