(新春见闻)美国旧金山湾区：特殊的春节记忆

　　中新社旧金山1月30日电 题：(新春见闻)美国旧金山湾区：特殊的春节记忆

　　中新社记者 刘关关

　　美国旧金山市中心的联合广场上，竖立起一座老虎雕像。蓝色的“虎躯”上，装点着梅、竹、祥云等中国元素。不少路人停下脚步，与他们口中“很酷”“超棒”的艺术品合影。

　　虎年将至，6尊不同设计风格的老虎雕像出现在旧金山不同地点。联合广场的这尊，由加州艺术学院的中国留学生邓奕扬设计。他告诉中新社记者，老虎身上的竹子和梅花元素来自其中国水墨画的学习经验。梅兰竹菊“四君子”代表了古代文人所崇尚的良好品行，而祥云则寓意“吉祥如意”。

　　“远隔重洋在海外留学，原本因为无法回国过年而觉得遗憾。”邓奕扬说，“没想到旧金山十分重视中国的春节文化，让我有机会参与到春节氛围之中，同时传播我们的中国文化。”

　　邓奕扬认为，今年参与老虎雕塑的创作，“可能是一份最特殊的春节记忆”。而对于年长几岁的罗子峻来说，他在美国生活期间的春节记忆，则与留学生“春节晚会”紧密相连。

　　因为疫情而停办一年之后，1月29日晚，旧金山多所高校的中国留学生联合举办的“春节晚会”回来了。两年前还是晚会工作人员的罗子峻，这次以观众身份出现在虎年“春晚”现场。两年时间里，他已顺利毕业，并在当地就业。能够时隔两年再次看到“春晚”，令他“非常激动”。

　　“在疫情下生活的两年里，好像失去了很多社交机会，已经很久没有和这么多人一起庆祝节日了。”罗子峻说，“春节是我们文化里最重要的日子之一，能与老友们一起度过这个节日，十分难得和珍贵。”

　　在罗子峻看来，疫情下的生活比较单一枯燥，容易让人逐渐丧失对时间的概念。他说：“回望过去的两年，好像记忆深刻的事情并不多，时间就像是被偷走了一样。”

　　就在中国留学生们相聚于旧金山大学举办“春晚”的同一天，许多旧金山人不约而同地前往唐人街，迎接春节花市的回归。

　　At noon, standing on the higher-lying section of the northern end of Chinatown Main Street and looking south, hundreds of meters of streets are already rubbing shoulders.

At a stall selling green plants, a large bundle of gladioli that the clerk had just moved in was sold out within minutes.

　　After buying the favorite green plants, the blond Jenny and the stall owner smiled and said goodbye to each other in Cantonese "Gong Xi Fa Cai".

Before the outbreak, she grew up in San Francisco and went to the Spring Festival flower market every year to watch the parade of floats.

"Chinatown is one of the most important parts of our city, and hopefully it won't be a temporary buzz," said Jenny.

　　As the Spring Festival is approaching, many Chinese Americans will temporarily leave their jobs, take vacations to relax, or reunite with their families.

And every holiday is the busiest time for Ms. Wang from Liaoning.

　　22 years ago, Ms. Wang came to the United States to work hard.

Since then, all her Spring Festivals have been spent in the United States.

Ms. Wang, who is engaged in the catering industry, told a reporter from China News Agency that she will be busier on all holidays, so she usually does not deliberately celebrate the holidays.

　　At noon on January 28, in the Cupertino business district in Silicon Valley, there were no diners at the "Green Apple" restaurant run by Ms. Wang, and she and her staff were busy packing takeaways.

Ms Wang explained that the operating conditions of restaurants usually change with the ups and downs of the epidemic.

When the epidemic subsided, the restaurant also returned to a state of full capacity.

However, recently, the epidemic in the United States has become serious again, and dine-in food has also declined. She and her employees once again concentrated on operating the takeaway business.

　　A day or two later, Ms. Wang and a dozen employees will be busy preparing New Year's Eve dinners for customers.

She said that recently, the epidemic in the United States has become serious again, and many customers are reluctant to go out to eat, so restaurants will deliver New Year's Eve dinner to their door.

Some old customers book New Year's Eve packages at Ms. Wang's restaurant every year. In her opinion, this is the support of the old customers for the restaurant.

"This is the mutual help between us Chinese."

　　Zhao Deyi, 20, is also from Liaoning. She and her boyfriend Deng Yiyang participated in the design of this year's New Year statue in San Francisco.

　　At the age of 9, Zhao Deyi came to live in the United States with his family.

Because the elders participate in the design and production of the Chinatown Chinese New Year parade floats every year, she has been interested in Chinese New Year elements since she was a child.

This year, Deyi Zhao, a student at the California Institute of the Arts, designed the exteriors of the two statues.

At the same time, this is the second year in a row that she has participated in the design work of this public art project.

　　Zhao Deyi told reporters that many people left messages for her on the Internet, expressing their love for her works, and others expressed their gratitude to her.

This made Zhao Deyi very proud and "moved to tears".

　　Zhao Deyi said: "Now, people have canceled many activities and gatherings because of the epidemic. I hope these artworks can add a touch of warmth to everyone." (End)