And while Morris railed against the "melting pot" theory, the pot of polyglot culture appeared to be bubbling on Saturday on Vernon street when the Chinese Community brought in their new year with the usual fanfare.
President of the Belize Chinese community Edmond Kwan explained the significance of the observance:,,,
Edmund Kwan, Pres. Belize Chinese Assn.
"The day before Saturday we had the lion dance parade, a city wide parade. We went to about 45 business establishments to bring prosperity and the traditional things. Yesterday, Sunday we had the New Year's banquet, we had about 800 guests - adults and children and we had a lot of prizes, yesterday we also had the lion and the dragon dance at Princess Casino. Mainly, Chinese tradition is to bring prosperity and good health. The dynamite was to chase away evil spirits, bad luck. The lion is to bring prosperity and make the business flourish."
Monica Bodden
"Anything else you'd like to add?"
Edmund Kwan, Pres. Belize Chinese Assn.
"Just Happy New Year everybody."
And while that was the ceremonial observance, the Chinese Year of the Rabbit began formally on Thursday, February third.
