It was exactly 30 years ago that I first experienced this holiday within a genuinely Chinese context. A few months after graduating from college in 1983, I traveled to Taiwan to continue studying Chinese after three years of studying the language in the U.S. I enrolled in the Chinese language program at the Mandarin Training Center, Taiwan Normal University ("normal" simply indicates that the university specialized in training teachers) in Taiwan's capital Taipei. I would continue my studies there until the middle of the following year. After a period of time staying with friends of my father and then living in a student hostel, I found a room to rent in an apartment near my school (my landlady was a somewhat eccentric woman originally from Shanghai). At that time, most Americans studying Chinese overseas went to Taiwan rather than the Chinese mainland as the mainland was only then beginning to open its doors to foreign students. However, although many of the students at the school were Americans, I ended up in a class in which I was the only American. This was probably to my benefit, as it forced me to use Chinese to communicate with my classmates since few of them spoke English.
As Chinese New Year approached, one of my classmates, a young woman from Singapore, who was--like most Singaporeans--an ethnic Chinese, invited me and some other classmates to come to her apartment for the night before the big day (traditionally, the night before Chinese New Year is a time to gather with family and/or friends to celebrate the coming new year). I accepted her invitation and set out that evening for her apartment. However, once I alighted from my bus (or it might have been a taxi--I don't remember clearly), I found it rather tough going trying to find her place. Her apartment was located in an area of the city that was unfamiliar to me, and off the main roads, the streets were rather dimly lit. Several times I asked for help in finding the address from passers-by, but for some reason--perhaps my limited listening skills in Chinese or perhaps my informants' unwillingness to admit they simply didn't know where the place was--I didn't seem to be getting anywhere close to my destination. Then, just as I was about to give up and return to my rented room, I stumbled upon the street where she lived.
After reaching her apartment, I joined her and the other invitees in a rather simple Chinese meal. We then watched television for a while. The only program I remember clearly was a brief holiday message from Chiang Ching-kuo, the then president of the Republic of China (Taiwan's official name) and the son of Chiang Kai-Shek. I recall that I found his message largely incomprehensible, perhaps due to the rather heavy accent with which he spoke Mandarin. Our hostess then suggested that we entertain ourselves by playing cards until the next morning (it is traditional for people to stay up all night on the eve of Chinese New Year). However, I was not too keen on the idea of surrendering my sleep for the evening, so made an early departure to return home.
It was at about this time that I experienced Chinese New Year in all its noisy glory. A little before midnight, there was a tremendous roar throughout Taipei as thousands of firecrackers were set off (the noise is thought to frighten away evil spirits). It almost sounded as if the city were under artillery bombardment! Despite the racket, I somehow managed to find a taxi to take me home. When the driver dropped me off near my landlady's apartment, the street was filled with smoke and littered with what looked like red confetti but which were in fact the remains of exploded firecrackers. To the best of my recollection, it took me a while to fall asleep that night, due to the fact that the sound of exploding firecrackers did not subside for some time after I got into bed.
And so I experienced Chinese New Year for the first time. Although thirty years of passed, at least some memories of this most representative of all Chinese holidays remain etched in my memory. Little did I know at the time that many years later I would experience Chinese New Year in all its glory in China's ancient capital, Beijing--but that's another story. Happy Year of the Goat!
Image of traditional cut paper decoration for Chinese New Year from greatwallchineseacademy,org