With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, the NIA Hualien County Service Center held its first New Immigrant Families Lesson in 2022, the new immigrant families were invited to celebrate this holiday together.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many new immigrant families haven’t visited their loved ones in their home countries for a long time.
To help with their homesickness, the NIA Hualien County Service Center held the New Immigrant Families Lesson. In this lesson, the families shared New Year traditions from their home countries. Also, the instructor Rubby introduced Taiwanese traditions done during the Lunar New Year, and showed them gift wrapping skills as well as how to make square and rectangle red cloth envelopes.
The color red resembles joy in Chinese culture. Rubby said, in celebration and gratitude, the new immigrant families may send Hualien souvenirs as gifts, wrapped in the red envelopes, to their families abroad.
Lunar New Year is the most important holiday in Chinese culture. A-Houng(阿紅), from North-East China, shared her hometown tradition: eating dumplings during the new year’s eve dinner(年夜飯); while in Taiwan, people enjoy Tangyuan(湯圓) traditionally. A-Houng said because her husband’s family showers her with love and care, she could feel the same happiness as at home, even with different dishes on the table.
Maili(美麗), from Indonesia, said that she would send her handmade red envelope to her parents, as well as some new clothes and her mother’s favorite lipstick. She thanked her parents in tears: “I love you and miss you so much”.
Director Hu (胡朝仁) of NIA Hualien County Service Center gave away spring festival couplets and red envelopes from the Office of the President to wish the new immigrant families a great Tiger Year ahead(「福運旺來」). He reminded the new immigrant families not to buy meat products from abroad in order to prevent the invasion of African swine fever. Additionally, NIA has been promoting the Carefree Covid-19 Vaccination Program to encourage foreign nationals, including undocumented migrant workers and over-stayers, to vaccinate without the fear of being seized or reported; the program last until January 31, 2022.