When it comes to community service, one of the most anticipated events of the year is our annual Bai Neen (拜年) at Chau Luen Tower and at the Chau Luen-affiliated society buildings. Here, we give blessings not only to our society members, but to every individual person in our affordable housing complex in Chinatown who wants to experience it.
Here’s why we keep this tradition alive every year and why all of our club members look forward to it so much.
What is the Chau Luen Society?
Chau Luen Athletics is special because of our ties to the Chau Luen Society in Vancouver. The society is one of many social organizations in Chinatown that provide services for Chinese people in the city. Normally, you may see societies that serve people of a certain last name, like the Lee’s Association of Canada, or ones that serve a particular group of people or region in China, like the Hoy Ping Benevolent Association.
The Chau Luen Society serves those with one of five surnames:
Tam (談),
Tam/Tan (譚),
Tse/Xie (謝),
Hui/Hoy (許), or
Yuen/Ruan (阮).
Most people belonging to one of those families can easily apply for membership to get benefits like access to programming, special celebration banquets, and more.
Chau Luen Athletics practices out of the Chau Luen Tower
As the athletic arm of the society, Chau Luen Athletics provides traditional Choy Lee Fut kung fu and traditional Southern style (佛山) lion dance classes. Even though the athletic club is part of the society, these classes aren’t limited to those who share one of the five surnames; everyone is welcome to join regardless of surname, background, gender, or age.
Since our inception, we have been practicing at the Chau Luen Tower, sharing the space with the seniors who live there.
The tower itself is a 14-storey housing complex located in Vancouver’s Chinatown, providing much-needed access to affordable housing to over 70 low-income seniors.
Here, they are given space to live independently while still having easy access to Chinatown. This allows residents to access affordable groceries, herbs, and specialty shops, all while being able to converse comfortably in a neighbourhood that can understand their language.
Living at the tower also unlocks a long list of social services and culturally appropriate activities for their members, including dance lessons, singing, table tennis, and more.
Oftentimes, seniors living at the tower can be found milling about in the lobby area, catching up on the latest C-dramas or the Fairchild 7 o’clock news on the shared big-screen TV. Coincidentally, this big open space is where our team hones our skills in kung fu, lion dance, and dragon dance.
The seniors who come downstairs to the lobby often watch us with big smiles on their faces, commenting on how talented we are as martial artists (and occasionally how handsome or pretty we are). It’s always a pleasure sharing the space with them, and to see the same friendly smiles week after week is another motivation to keep coming and train harder.
Our Bai Neen festivities – starting off at the clan associations
On the big day, we will always start by first bowing to the altar of Jiang Ziya (a historical figure who represents wisdom and divine protection) before proceeding to the Chau Luen-affiliated society buildings, Hoy Clansmen Association and the Tam's Benevolent Association. The associations serve as spaces for meetings and other activities, and both are located in the Chinatown area.
While our newer students got reps in the latter half of the day, we had some more senior students on hand to perform at the two association buildings. Here, Leanne, Chantelle, Ellen, and Remi took centre stage, blessing everyone in attendance with a shower of lettuce and bowing to the altars dedicated to members past.
Going door to door and blessing every resident at the Chau Luen Tower
It was now onto the fresh and fun challenge: going to every unit in the tower that requested a lion dance and performing for them individually.
You can think of it like a lion dance version of trick or treating. Lions go up to the doors where a smiling senior awaits. There is always a small tray of fruit, candy, and a red pocket to be collected.
The lions perform a slightly modified routine (since you can’t really perform a full routine in a cramped hallway), delighting the seniors who watch. Along with a full complement of drums, cymbals, and gong, the lion heads munch away on the fruit (passing it back to their tail to be collected for later), and sometimes goes inside the apartment.
If going inside, it allows them to bow at a home altar or collect further red pockets or goodies that the senior is happy to provide.
Some seniors, like Mrs. Tse, love taking photos, and always request to take one with our performers.
Why we enjoy performing for seniors so much
As much as we enjoy doing performances for big-name clients like PwC, Tiffany and Co., or the BC Provincial Government, it’s so much more rewarding to do special events like this one.
You see more smiles, more excitement, and more joy than at a corporate event. Often, at other community events, like our annual dragon dance performance at the Lunar New Year parade in Chinatown, you’ll see a lot of smiling children. But not all seniors want to come out to public events, whether it be due to inclement weather, large crowds, or fatigue.
Bringing the magic of lion dance to them is something we almost feel it’s a duty to do, especially since we share our training space with them and because of how much support and encouragement they give us.
“This was my second year lion dancing in the homes of our seniors. It's something I clear my calendar for”, said Leanne, one of our experienced female lion dancers. Many students keenly look forward to performing in front of the residents, eager to show off their skills that they had been practicing and capturing even more smiles from the friendly faces that watch them practice.
Bringing a spectacle that’s usually reserved for banquets and street festivals into modest seniors' spaces is as delightful as it is a welcome challenge. The apartments are often filled to the brim with precious mementos, cherished family photos, and the ubiquitous kitchenware of familiar households.
We don't hold back on our on-beat thrashing—a lively lion is a lucky lion. At the same time, we test our agility navigating tight corridors and the many, many proudly displayed but very breakable ceramics.
The most humbling part of the day is witnessing what the seniors lay out for the lions to "eat". Although Chau Luen's seniors qualify as low-income, they are incredibly generous with what they have. Indeed, "feeding" the lion well guarantees luck for the person giving. And when our lions "gobble" up an overflowing plate of fruit, candy, and lucky red envelopes, we are mindful that we’re playing sacred animal spirits in an elder's home, receiving their warmth and hospitality.
To the seniors, it may feel like a friendly creature from the Heavens is right there in their living room—a fantastical moment that anyone who has ever heard a folktale in their lives could dream about. Spirituality aside, the simple and rare sight of a large, sparkling, mystical lion at home can't help but feel like a blessing.
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