the world is your acorn

Today is the second day of the Chinese New Year. On Thursday The Little Red Haired Girl and I had some friends over and made some Chinese food for an early celebration. Last night we went to a big 10 course dinner sponsored by the Chinese Arts Alliance of Nashville. It was pretty fun - the food was good, the people we sat with were interesting and entertaining, and the Lion Dance was incredible.

I did walk away feeling a little weird about it though. I guess I’m always a little weary of my culture being commodified, or fetishized. One of the things that the invitation to the dinner asked was that people dress in Chinese garb. I guess it makes the event feel more festive, but for me it was just a bunch of people wearing either the clothes of another culture or, worse, their idea of the clothes of another culture. At the same time, I guess I should be happy that others are making an effort to participate in and share Chinese traditions. A friend last night asked me how it could have been made better. I’m not really sure. I suppose it would have helped if there had been more information around telling guests about Chinese New Year, the superstitions, traditions, and meanings that go with the holiday. Without that information I fear that guests may have walked away with their eroticized (or something else) ideas of Chinese culture confirmed.