Presentation: What Your Mother Never Told You: Chinese American Traditions

Learn about the facts, traditions and misconceptions about the Chinese New Year celebration in San Francisco. Did you know that there are no Chinese New Year parades in China and why the Chinese celebrate “new year” four times a year?
 

David Y. Lei, 李萱頤, was born in Taiwan with Cantonese parents and has lived in the Bay Area since 1956. He attended public schools and graduated from UC Berkeley in 1972 with a business degree. Lei worked as a social worker in San Francisco’s Chinatown with at-risk youths for many years. He has given various talks on Chinese American history and culture at The Commonwealth Club, California Historical Society, Asian Art Museum, Chinese Culture Center and San Francisco Main Library, and was a commencement speaker to UC Berkeley's class of 2019 at Memorial Stadium. Lei remains active in the community, working to introduce sustainable funding models to community-based organizations. He feels that it is imperative to interpret Chinese American history and Chinese art and culture in the American context.