Policy Place
Gong Hei Fat Choy
“Wishing You Prosperity and Good Fortune” in Cantonese
February 2025
January 29 is the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year – the year of the Snake. The Snake year generally symbolizes wisdom, intuition, and transformation. People born in Snake years are often considered enigmatic, intuitive, and refined.
We have fun at BAI reading out each other’s birth years and figuring out what Zodiac sign we are and how the year is supposedly going to be for us. The year of the Snake are for people born in the years of 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, and 2025.
The history of Chinese people in the Comox Valley dates back to 1888 when Chinese settlers arrived in Cumberland to work in the newly opened coal mines and help construct the railway line. Cumberland’s Chinatown quickly grew into a vibrant community, becoming one of Canada’s largest Chinese settlements by the end of World War I. Chinese miners faced significant hardships, including dangerous working conditions that claimed 100 lives in mining disasters. Despite these challenges, they built a thriving community with houses, businesses, and market gardens.
The Chinese population in Cumberland sustained their culture, establishing farms along Lake and Minto roads to supply vegetables to the community and local residents. Throughout British Columbia, Chinese Canadians played crucial roles in various gold rushes and the development of early settlements. However, they also faced discrimination, including voting bans and the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923.
Today, the contributions of Chinese Canadians to the Comox Valley and British Columbia are widely recognized and celebrated. As we approach the Lunar New Year in 2025, the community continues to honor its rich heritage and the resilience of its early settlers, whose legacy has helped shape the diverse cultural landscape of the region.