Welcoming the Year of the Rabbit

The vibrant colours of red, the sound of the drums and of course the smell of citrus mandarins can only mean one thing – Chinese New Year. In 2023, Sunday 22 January signifies the transition of ‘hopping’ into the ‘Year of the Rabbit.’   

Chinese New Year has been celebrated in China for thousands of years, and some of our more culturally diverse Aged Care Centres also celebrate this event. One of these Centres includes Macquarie Lodge Aged Care Centre (“Macquarie Lodge”) in Sydney’s south. The Centre’s Chaplain Bill ‘Yi’ Li notes that the Centre celebrates this cultural event annually, particularly in light of the fact that approximately 6% of the Centre’s residents are themselves Chinese. 22 January was an exciting day with Bill noting, “we had a Chinese New Year celebration morning tea with Chinese food and then we went on an armchair travel to China.”  

The residents at Macquarie Lodge find this an exciting calendar event with Bill stating, “not only is it for the Chinese residents, but all the residents can come down and celebrate together.” Whilst the celebrations have looked a little different during the pandemic over the last three years, the 2019 celebration was a hit. Bill says, “In 2019, we did Chinese New Year trivia and the residents didn’t know too much, but after trivia they knew all the facts. They enjoyed that they learnt something about China and Chinese culture. Because Australia is a multicultural country, this celebration makes people understand each other more.” Bill reiterates, “this is good for the mutual understanding of culture.”  

In the same way, Sally Trimble, the Lifestyle Coordinator at Mountain View Aged Care Centre (“Mountain View”) in the Australian Capital Territory, also celebrates this significant cultural event. Sally is particularly passionate about Chinese New Year, with a personal connection to the event. “As a child, I grew up in Hong Kong and was lucky enough to experience all Chinese festivals, alongside Western festivals. Chinese New Year was a favourite due to the colour, during the winter months in Southeast Asia.”  

Mountain View therefore celebrated the special occasion with plenty of planning and preparation. “We celebrated with a themed luncheon for our residents,” Sally notes. Activities included craft, focusing on making decorations, colouring in, conversations and a quiz and word scramble.  We have collected decorations over the last few years and decorate the fishpond walkway with red and orange lanterns, good luck signs and more, which all looks colourful and festive.” 

When asked what residents love most about celebrating this event, Sally says, “Our themed luncheon and the colourful display of lanterns along the enclosed fishpond walkway. Our display and activities during Chinese New Year spark conversation amongst our residents.”  

But perhaps the most exciting part of this celebration for the staff, residents and families at Mountain View, is its ability to symbolically and meaningfully create community. “It marks a point in time as a calendar occasion with a wonderful festival, bringing residents, relatives and staff together.”