March 15, 2024 | Vol. 53, Issue 5

The only bilingual Chinese-English Newspaper in New England

Festival

Diwali Festival of Lights Celebrated Worldwide

This week Hindus in India and its diaspora worldover celebrated the Festival of Diwali. India is a vast country having religious and cultural variations hence Sikhs, Budhists and Jains also celebrate their version of Diwali or Deepavali. The festival has its roots in Hindu mythology and epics. Diya (Lamp) and Deepmala (Row of light), both symbolize light and spiritually; it is victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance and good over evil. People celebrate by lighting lamps, decorate homes, […]

A Sneak Peek at the Boston Asian American Film Festival

ArtsEmerson is leading the way as documentaries, narratives and short films abound in this year’s line-up for the Boston Asian American Film Festival. The director of the festival, Susan Chinsen, and the director and co-director of one of the films were able to give some insight into the stories present and the work behind it. The festival has two formats with different films. Susan Chinsen commented that, with the surprise of COVID, another way to interact and be a part […]

Harvard Square Celebrates Its First Filipino American Festival

In celebration of Filipino American History Month, the Harvard Square Philippine Alliance (HSPA), collaborating with the Philippine Consulate General in New York, held the first Filipino American Festival on October 9, 2022 at Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, coinciding with the 43rd Annual Oktoberfest and Honk Parade. Consul Ricarte Abejuela III headed Consulate delegation, which joined the HSPAA organizers in the nearly two hour long Honk parade starting from Davis Square to Harvard Square. Spectators were entertained by Filipino-American contingents from […]

A preview of Chinatown’s Films at the Gate Festival

The Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC) is bringing the community together in Chinatown on Friday, August 26th through August 28th with the riveting Films at the Gate Festival.  This reporter spoke recently with ACDC’s Director of Development and Communications Christine Nguyen about the festival’s origins and what people can expect this year. CHRISTINE NGUYEN: This year is the 16th iteration of the festival; we took a break in 2020. I wasn’t involved at the very beginning, but it was a […]

Sharing Mooncakes and Love at Mid-Autumn Festival  

There are different shapes of mooncakes with different stuffings and skins. Usually, the skin is made of wheat powder, but now there are also ice skins made of sticky rice powder. The stuffing of mooncakes varies depending on the cities and provinces: Beijing style, Jiangsu style, Ningbo style, Shanghai style, Hong Kong style. In northern and southern China, the stuffing of the mooncakes is usually sweet, made of ingredients like sugar, red beans, and lotus seed. In the middle region, […]

CCBA Presents the 52nd Annual Chinatown August Moon Festival

Photos from the 52nd Annual August Moon Festival, August 14, 2022 at Phillips Square in Chinatown, sponsored by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New England. Boston officials, including Mayor Michelle Wu and Police Superintendent James K. Chin, along with the New England Kung Fu Dance Association and the Boston Chinese Folk dance group, welcomed the coming fall season with a festival of joy and health. From all of us here at Sampan to all of you in Boston and beyond, best […]

Mid-autumn Festival: From Fairytale to History

Chinese who live abroad tend to have deeper attachment to the traditions than those who still live and breathe on the Chinese soil. If you ask someone like me, who belongs to the latter group, about Mid-Autumn Festival, I can only share a very limited knowledge beyond a fairytale which all Chinese children will remember. Fairytale origins Before all the dynasties, there were 10 suns in the sky scorching the earth and killing all inhabitants (consider it an ancient version […]

Immigrant and Minority Representation at the Roxbury Film Festival

Authentic and truthful minority representation in media and film is difficult to come by, but the Roxbury Film Festival has promised to do just that. The line up in this year’s festival celebrates the diverse untold stories of different minorities, with films that focus on immigration and poverty. Celebrating its 24th year in action, the Roxbury Film Festival boasts a startling line-up, the kick-off feature being Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story. From influential Gospel singers during the Civil Rights […]

404 Not Found

404 Not Found


nginx/1.18.0 (Ubuntu)