Asians welcome the year of the Ox

Across eastern Asia on Feb 12, 2021, people will be celebrating Chinese New Year, ushering in the year of the Ox. For the growing Asian population of South Florida, this year’s celebration will be subdued compared to previous years.

Chinese New Year falls on different dates each year because it’s based on the lunar calendar and often called the Spring Festival. It’s the most important holiday in several Asian countries including China, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Philippines.

Spring Festival is when extended families come together and celebrate the beginning of the new year. Gifts are often exchanged and parents often give red envelopes filled with money to children. Lavish dinners with many dishes symbolizing unity and good luck are served. New Year’s rituals span two weeks, so you will often find businesses in east Asia taking a long vacation during this period.

In the US, you will find many of the traditional celebrations, such as dragon and lion dances and the hanging of red lanterns in many China towns across the country. But this year, this is expected to be more subdued, and many families will be celebrating at home.

The Ox from the Chinese Horoscope symbolizes someone who is honest and hardworking. As we all recover from a difficult 2020, I hope the spirit of the Ox imbues us with the strength to take on the recovery, and leads to a prosperous 2021.

Delray mom writes kids book on wearing masks

Delray Beach resident Shannon Q. McDonald, a mom of two young children, wanted to find a way to tell her kids about face masks in kid-friendly language, while also making them laugh at the same time.

To do so, she wrote Remember to Smile, a children’s picture book for kids ages 2-6 years old that describes and illustrates different styles of masks and when to wear them.

“I have a 3- and 5-year-old, and as a parent, I look for ways to explain some of the new COVID-related realities they are seeing in an age-appropriate way,” McDonald says. “I wanted something that was fun, but still carried a message about one of the most visual changes they are encountering in schools and daycares – face masks.”

As more and more places require masks, and young children have to experience so many new, confusing, and sometimes scary things, Remember to Smile adds playfulness and laughs around masks. With the help of some giggles and an adorable wiener dog based on the author’s family pup, Remember to Smile will help children become more comfortable with the idea of face masks, and encourage them to keep smiling, even if it has to be hidden from sight at times.

“Things look a bit different these days as we go out and about, especially for those little ones that are attending daycare or school this Fall,” McDonald said. “As our kids start to see and wear masks, it can be somewhat confusing. I hope that regardless of the various viewpoints about mask-wearing right now, people understand that this is a reality for our children. The most helpful thing we can do as parents is helping them to feel more comfortable and at ease when seeing anyone wearing them.”

The book is available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon as a paperback, hardcover or e-book.