Missing

An ancient Chinese poet said:" People always become extremely homesick when festival come. “long time ago. I moved far away from where I grew up to an unknown city. When winter is coming, it means the Spring Festival is coming too. My favorite holiday is Spring Festival because it is the most important festival in China. On that day all the people who work far away from their home will go back home before the holiday day, in order to reunite with relatives and friends to celebrate the Spring Festival. However, since I moved to Chicago, I recognized that Spring Festival's atmosphere was lost in this city.

The Spring Festival benefits people by celebrated many activities in China. Nevertheless, there is a disparity between the United States and China. In China, the liveliest activity is the lion dance. During the lion dance, there are drums, firecrackers, trumpets that accompany played with the lion dance in the street, and make a blessed to every household. Also, a group of people follow the lion dance performance. This year on Spring Festival, I saw the lion dance in Chinatown but there was no firecracker. There was a small group of people that followed it but It looks cold and cheerless. I thought the reason is the weather was too cold and firecrackers are not allowed in Chicago. Every Spring Festival only snow and work accompany me.

When the Spring Festival arrives in Chicago, I also found some customs have gradually disappeared in this city. In China, I remembered every Spring Festival my father would take my brother to stick couplets on the door of our house, and my mother would take me to make the sweet dumplings. The sweet dumplings mean the family would stay together forever and have good luck in the coming year. Then, during the Spring Festival, we had to wear new clothes and get the red envelopes from the older generation. My parents took me to exchange gifts with relatives and friends. When I moved to Chicago, these customs were not popular to celebrated in my house because my mom said I was grown up already. Also, she does not need to give me the red envelope. What a farfetched reason! Some customs of the Spring Festival are like this windy city; they blow away in the wind.

Finally, delicious and meaningful traditional food makes me miss Chinese Spring Festival a lot. New year's eve dinner is the most important part of Spring Festival. Before the dinner, we have to prepare some traditional food, like the fish, rice cake, turnips and dumplings. These foods all have the special meanings. For example, rice cakes mean work is getting better and better. Turnips mean luck and peace. I miss my mother 's homemade rice cakes, the taste in no one can copy. However, people can still buy these foods in the supermarket, but the taste is so bad. In addition, my parents are very busy so my family cannot celebrate the Spring Festival in Chicago. It has been a long time since I haven't eat the homemade traditional food from my mother.

Since I moved to Chicago for three years ago already. Nevertheless, I still miss the Spring Festival in China. Every Spring Festival, I can only get the pictures through my smartphone to feel the distant of Spring Festival. However, when I chose to live in Chicago. I know very well that these memories would only be saved in my heart. Probably the reality wants to tell me that it is time to accept the new culture from this country. Even though the Spring Festival in Chicago is not perfect. Finally, I still can reside with my family in this unusual Spring Festival.