It may seem an unusual pairing but blending Scottish and Chinese traditions has become a popular new way to ring in the Chinese Lunar New Year and a fun way for the Friends of Waterloo Region Museums to raise funds and educate people about the two cultures.
“We were looking for a project that was kind of different and I just threw this out,” said Alison Jackson from The Friends of Waterloo Region Museums.
“I was brought up in the same area of Scotland as Robbie Burns and I spoke the same dialect. We also have a Chinese fellow on the Friends board, Yisong Wang, who is a member of the Grand River Chinese Orchestra. We thought we could do Gung Haggis Fat Choy and the idea caught on.”
Jackson first heard about Gung Haggis Fat Choy when she was working on an historical panel for the Scottish Diaspora Tapestry project that featured, Guelph city founder John Galt.
“When I got the book with all the panels from around the world, one of them was Gung Haggis Fat Choy from Vancouver,” she said. “The actual picture of the tapestry from that project is so hilarious because it’s a dragon wearing a kilt.”
The concept for the annual event originated in 1993 in Vancouver with fifth-generation, Chinese Canadian restaurant owner, Todd Wong aka Toddish McWong, who saw it as a unique way to celebrate both cultures and their contribution to Canada’s multicultural identity.
The name is a play on words using the Cantonese New Year greeting ‘Gung Hay Fat Choy’ which means ‘We wish you to be rich’.
“It has been going on for over 20 years in Vancouver and we kind of fashioned this after their events,” said board president Kelly Smith.
“It’s not like your traditional Robbie Burns Supper and it’s different from your typical Chinese New Year celebration. It is a fusion of the two to celebrate both cultures and the fact that they are both celebrating the same week.”
Robbie Burns Day is Jan 25 and Chinese Lunar New Year is Jan 29.
Haggis, as every good Scott knows, is a staple dish at every Robbie Burns Supper. He even wrote a poem, Address to the Haggis, that is read before people eat.
“I’m addressing the haggis that night,” said Jackson. “It’s not a dinner. We’re having tastings and I love it. I always tell people it is just the same as salami, but it’s made with oatmeal and a wee bit crumblier.”
People will get a chance to try the haggis along with the many other authentic food offerings.
“We are going to have tastings and samplings of foods from both cultures,” said Smith. “We got some haggis from a Scottish outlet bakery in the region and TNT Supermarket in Waterloo is helping us scope out some of the traditional Chinese food.”
There won’t, however, be any Scotch or other alcohol drinks on the menu.
“What we decided to do instead was to focus on tastings of traditional soft drinks from the two cultures,” said Smith. “Iron Brew will be there. We have Oolong tea and different ginger drinks.”
There will be traditional performances by the Waterloo Kung Fu Academy’s Lion Dance Team and the Bartlett School of Highland Dancing.
“We have the Grand River Chinese Orchestra and The Scantily Plaid, who are a Scottish music group,” said Smith. “They have been working together to do their own pieces, but also they’ve done some fused pieces where they have the traditional Chinese instruments as well as the traditional Scottish instruments. I heard them last night and they are amazing.”
The goal is to make the event both entertaining and educational.
“We have two MCs that will be translating each other’s culture to try to educate us on the meaning of some of these traditions,” said Smith. “Why they exist and why they have held on for so many years.”
All proceeds from the event will go to the Friends of Waterloo Region Museums to help them support the four regional museums, Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum, Doon Heritage Village, Schneider Haus and McDougall Cottage in Cambridge.
Jackson has been a member of the group for more than 40 years and it gives her great joy to share her heritage and help with fundraisers like the Gung Haggis Fat Choy celebration.
“I was brought up with Burns poetry,” said Jackson. “I lived with that my whole life, and I think he would have approved because Burns was an internationalist, and he would have enjoyed the fun of it.”
Click here order tickets or learn more about Gung Haggis Fat Choy and other activities of the Friends of Waterloo Region Museums.