When Celia Annetta left Indonesia to study at Tsinghua University, she brought more than textbooks – she carried centuries of cultural fusion in her Lunar New Year celebrations. 🌏✨ The social sciences student reveals how her family blends Chinese Spring Festival rituals with vibrant Indonesian flair, creating a celebration that’s as spicy as sambal and as lucky as red envelopes.
A Heritage of Harmony
Since her grandparents migrated from the Chinese mainland to Indonesia in the 1900s, Celia’s family has mixed traditional angpao (red packets) with batik-patterned decorations. 🧧🕍 'We hang lanterns near our wayang kulit shadow puppets,' she laughs. 'It’s like nasi goreng – everyone thinks it’s fully Indonesian, but it’s actually a delicious mix!'
Fusion Feast
While mainland Chinese families steam fish for prosperity, Celia’s table overflows with lumpia (spring rolls) and kue keranjang (sticky rice cakes). 🥟🍚 The twist? Everything gets served with sambal terasi chili paste. 🔥 'My Ah Ma (grandma) says even the Kitchen God needs extra spice in Indonesia!'
