How Sister Cities Celebrate the New Year Around the World

The clock has ticked past midnight in every time zone around the world and we are now in a New Year. When New Years came through Chattanooga, Tennessee, champagne flutes were toasted, lovers kissed, and fireworks shot into the sky. Many people in Chattanooga were probably watching college football, too (American college football, that). As families wake up on New Years’ Day, it’s likely many of them will have some black-eyed peas with their lunch or supper, a common New Year good fortune food around here.

But what about our sister cities all over the world? What might they have been doing as we entered a new year?

Learning about holiday celebrations in another country can open up your worldview in huge way. It will help you gain appreciation for your own traditions and give insight into the traditions of communities abroad.

Let’s begin with ACCRA, GHANA!

Our friendship city Accra, Ghana is all about celebrating the holiday season, which most Ghanians call the ‘festive season’. Traditional festivals, Fireworks, Holiday decor, and family gathered to share popular dishes like jollof rice, fu fu and various stews and savory soups.

A term that comes from the country’s most commonly-spoken language AKAN is 'AFISHAPA' which means Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

#Accra #Sistercities #Diversity #Inclusion #Ghana #Africa #Culture

Then, let’s celebrate with our friends in Hamm, Germany and Gangneung, Republic of Korea!

New Year’s Day in Germany is called Neu Jahr and is recognized as a national holiday. Bleigie Ben a type of fortune telling, is a popular activity on this day. Our friends use this traditional form of ‘tin pouring’ to predict what will happen in the new year. Sauerkraut is also a popular food eaten on this day for good luck.

Our friends in Gangneung celebrate the New Year referred to as the LUNAR YEAR (SEOLLAL). The Lunar year always last 3 days. The day before the New Year, day of and day after. Traveling to visit family, feasts and paying respect to ancestors are important during the Lunar Year season. Playing #yutnori is a popular tranditional game played today and enjoyment of the savory taste of rice cake soup is served to symbolize good health and long life.

Fano’s Feast of Seven Fishes is a popular tradition around the holidays. A tradition originated in Southern Italy. This grand meal takes place after a day of fasting before Christmas. This tradition commentates the wait, the Vigilia di Natale, for the midnight birth of baby Jesus. Learn more about #italiantradition

Our friends in Givatayim gathered to celebrate the beautiful holiday referred to as Hanukkah, also called Feast of Dedication. Lights, festivals and enjoying family for 8 days. Learn more about #Hanukkah

Wolfsburg is known for more than its rich history, big car plants, and the great Autostadt a sort of automotive museum, our friends celebrate the holidays with festivals in the city, parties and fireworks. Silvester or New Years Eve in Germany means the country explodes in celebrations. Fondue is also a popular food eaten on this day. Learn more #wolfsburggermany

In Nizhny Tagil our friends spend holiday season gathered on Theater Square. Enjoying friends and family. Novy God is the Russian phrase for New Year. New Year’s Eve is similar to Christmas and gifts are exchanged and New Year’s Eve trees are decorated and displayed. Learn more #nizhnytagil

In Wuxi, even though the Chinese New Year is January 22nd this year, launching Spring festival, the Gregorian New Year is still celebrated. You can expect fireworks in cities like Shanghai and Beijing, plenty of shopping deals and a national day off on January 1st. Learn more #chinesenewyear

Tono is full of amazing holiday traditions. The rich culture of the many people of Tono involves food & gatherings. A unique way of celebrating New Year’s Eve is eating toshikoshi soba and watching the sunrise in the morning called #Hatsuhinode

Oh! We can’t forget the wonderful tradition of New Years Resolutions! How about a resolution to learn more, connect with, and maybe even VISIT our sister cities. Remember, our world is one big family. Our differences are special, and our bonds help make for a more peaceful and abundant world for all. Be a great Chattanoogan this year! Maybe that also means be a great world citizen.

The Gift of Good Eats From Chattanooga's Friendship City in Ghana

We came, we cooked, we ate. What better way to connect with the people and culture from our Friendship City of Accra, Ghana?

The African cooking demo event was a blast! On August 26 at the North River Civic Center, President Karen Claypool kicked off the event with a warm welcome to members and guests. She spoke about her passion to bring more diversity to the association. Kanika Wellington-Jones, Vice President of the Accra, Ghana division and members Beatrice Kennebrew and N’Nako Kande’ Bacon (all pictured above) led the ‘Taste of Africa’ cooking class for the community. Together they prepared jollof rice (Ghanaian style) and pineapple beignets.

Kanika engaged the guests in conversation around her trip to Ghana and her personal experience with food, culture, and community.

While her Ghanian and Nigerian friends participated in the event via zoom, the conversation highlighted the beauty of fellowship around food and embracing cultural differences.

Stay tuned for more!

Annual Report - SCA Activities (February, 2022)

• Held an exhibition of photographs from Russian youth from Nizhny Tagil and Chattanooga high schoolers at City Hall and had a reception for the artists, their families, and the public

• Began a Sister City Book and Movie group

• Sent letters to outgoing and incoming mayors of Wuxi, Wolfsburg, and Tono and incoming mayor of Hamm

• Hosted several luncheons and dinners

• Arranged for a mayor's proclamation of Paul and Lisl Jackson Day and hosted Paul in a Walden Club dinner prior to his move to Texas, as a thank you for his and Lisl's work for and gifts to Sister Cities 

• Continued efforts with Tono brewers for collaborative beer-making projects; added Hamm to the discussions and are currently working on beer projects with Hamm and among Hamm, Tono, and Chattanooga

• Began virtual friends visits using WhatsApp where Chattanoogans were matched with folks from Hamm for regular contact; there are more people in Hamm wanting to participate who are awaiting Chattanooga partners

• Partnered with Barking Legs Theatre/Ann Law to create “Cultural Cross Ties”, a planned seven-year project through which Chattanooga artists are matched with artists in our sister cities to create art together and get to know one another via zoom

• Givatayim was the first city with whom we partnered, and a documentary is being produced that will be shown perpetually at the Chattanooga Airport and other locations throughout the Scenic City; The next segment of the project will be with Hamm and Wolfsburg

• Contacted former Mayor Andy Berke to set up a meeting time to honor him with a gift sent from Tono

• Had several meetings with Mayor Kelly and his staff to advocate for an SCA office in City Hall and a budget for our expenses

• Website updated by Evan Bissonette

• Sent letters and videotaped messages from Mayor Andy Berke and SCA president Karen Claypool to Tono in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan; Tono played a significant role in the rescue & recovery efforts following the disaster

• Organized three candidate forums via Zoom for local mayoral candidates

• SCA and Wuxi provided several opportunities for teens from both cities to communicate virtually using a big screen; Jenny Li, our VP for Wuxi, served as translator

• Facilitated a program on sustainability of cities led by Michael Walton of Chattanooga GreenSpaces, which included interviews with government leaders from Hamm, Wolfsburg and Tono; The interviews were shown on local TV in Tono, Japan

• Louisa Mesich, SCA board member, was recognized with an award from the Japanese government, presented by the Japanese consul in Atlanta for her work promoting international peace

A Poem About Traveling, by Gio Evan

Try to travel, otherwise you may become racist, and you may end up believing that your skin is the only one to be right, that your language is the most romantic and that you were the first to be the first.                                  

Travel, because if you don't travel then your thoughts won't be strengthened, won't get filled with ideas. Your dreams will be born with fragile legs and then you end up believing in tv-shows, and in those who invent enemies that fit perfectly with your nightmares to make you live in terror.     

Travel, because travel teaches to say good morning to everyone regardless of which sun we come from. 

Travel, because travel teaches to say goodnight to everyone regardless of the darkness that we carry inside.                     

Travel, because traveling teaches to resist, not to depend, to accept others, not just for who they are but also for what they can never be, to know what we are capable of, to feel part of a family beyond borders, beyond traditions and culture. Traveling teaches us to be beyond.

Travel, otherwise you end up believing that you are made only for a panorama and instead inside you there are wonderful landscapes still to visit. 

- Gio Evan, poet and songwriter.

Member Update for August & September, 2021

Dear Sister Cities Members and Friends,

Summer is coming to an end, and there are several announcements we want to let you know about.

First of all, HUGE thanks to Bonnie Mumpower Dodson who has sent our SCA notices for some time now. Moreover, she has served as membership chairperson and treasurer. She has been wonderful - and frankly, I was hoping that she would agree to take over as president of SCA - but health concerns have taken their toll, and she has to resign from her duties. This will be the last mail chimp notice she sends out for us. Then, at the end of September, she will give up the membership duties, and at the end of October, she will resign as treasurer.

WE ARE BEREFT! We wish Bonnie, however, healing and rest so that she can again be painfree.

And that means that we need someone or someones to step into her roles. Warning: she has big shoes to fill! Please let us know if you'd be willing to help with one (or more) of her duties.

Because of the Delta variant and the rise in local covid-19 cases, we had to cancel our Photographic Trip to Iceland planned for earlier in August. The photographer is willing to show his photos virtually but says that he prefers not to give a virtual presentation. Would you be interested in seeing his incredible pictures of that land of rugged beauty? If so, please let Kaihan (kdstrain@gmail.com) or me (fraufrizz@aol.com) know so that we can schedule it.

Last week some of the board members met with individuals wanting to explore the possibility of our becoming sister cities with Accra, Ghana and a city (as yet undetermined) in Guatemala. That process would take a minimum of a year, but we are interested in becoming friendship cities, as encouraged by Sister Cities International, for a year to see if there is sufficient interest to pursue the relationships. Would you like to volunteer to serve on a committee to work toward a partnership with one of those cities? If so, please contact Nancy (biblern@epbfi.com) or me (fraufrizz@aol.com). We would love to see our organization become more diverse and think that both of these possibilities have merit; however, we need people to make it happen. We'd love for you to be a part of that!

Catherine Middleton, VP for Hamm, Germany has been working with a representative from a brewing company there interested in a hops exchange and a collaborative new craft brew. Louisa Mesich, along with Manabu Iko, worked to form a partnership between Chattanooga breweries and breweries in Tono, Japan and beyond; that is an ongoing and successful project. Now we think that perhaps we can create a 'hoppy menage-a-trois' among Tono, Hamm, and Chattanooga to share ingredients and create a sister cities beer. We'll keep you updated.

Corona virus notwithstanding, we are engaged in some other activities with our 'sisters:'

** A few SCA members have been keeping in regular touch with WhatsApp Pals in Hamm. Rather than having penpals, these folks have partners in Hamm that they can see and talk with regularly on WhatsApp. Might you be interested in participating? You just need to download the WhatsApp app and let us know that you'd like to participate. We need a few details (your age, gender, phone number, email, preferred gender of contact, interests, hobbies, etc.), then you can be matched.

** Jenny Li, our VP for Wuxi, China has orchestrated several zoom calls on the large screen between several local teenagers and teens in Wuxi. This has been complicated because of the time difference, but Jenny has made it work. Kudos to her!

**Our collaborative Cultural Cross Ties project with Barking Legs Theatre is exciting! Ann Law, Barking Legs artistic director, has matched four Chattanooga and four Israeli artists from Givatayim, and they are working together on zoom to create art. Simultaneously, they are getting to know each other, share their cultures, talk about their joys and concerns, and discuss how they are coping during the pandemic. Their communication is being recorded, and a documentary will be made showcasing the results. Beginning in October the film will be shown perpetually at the CHA Airport and other venues in the area. After that, new artists from the Scenic City and probably Hamm (that is subject to change) will be matched to repeat the process. The plan is to team with a different sister city each year.

Are you interested in hosting our Book and Movie group in September? You get to choose the book or movie and facilitate the discussion. Please let me know (fraufrizz@aol.com). Last month we had about 12 people participate in a potluck dinner and viewing/discussion of the compelling film Just Mercy.

Stay safe, get vaccinated, wear a mask, act locally, and think globally.

Karen Claypool, Your SCA President

What's App?! Interested in a Pen Pal Using 21st Century Technology?

Due to Covid-19 and the travel restrictions to Germany for Americans, a representative from Hamm's International Circle of Friends (ICF - their equivalent to our Sister City Association) approached us with the idea to have, instead of penpals, “WhatsApp pals”. Several SCA members were interested and signed up!

They have since been matched up with folks in Hamm and are in regular contact with their new friends whom they have only met online. The reports we have heard are:

"It's fun!"

"I really like my new Hamm friends!"

"We can't wait till we are able to travel again so we can meet our new friends."

Would you like to have a German WhatsApp pal? If so, please email karen@acrossthelanguages.com to sign up for this program. You will need to provide the following:

• Your full name and (if any) your nickname

• Your age or age range

• Your gender

• Preferred gender of WhatsApp pal

• Your phone number

• Your email address

• Your interests

• Your past travel destinations

• Your favorite types of music

• Anything else that you think might be of interest to your new friends

You will then be matched with someone in Hamm that would like to communicate with you. Don't worry if you don't know German. Nearly everyone in Germany speaks and writes English well.

Be sure to download WhatsApp, if you don't already have it. It's FREE!

Summer Events & Activities

In May Manabu and Yumi Iko arrived in Chattanooga from Tono, Japan.

Tono's Mayor Honda has sent Manabu,  Tono City employee, to our City Hall as a visiting executive for a year. His primary tasks are, in a nutshell, to promote Tono to Chattanooga and to learn how Chattanooga's city government is run in order to take ideas back to Tono.

On Saturday, June 9th, Manabu and Yumi were formally introduced to 30 attendees at the SCA luncheon at Olive Branch Mediterranean Foods on Ringgold Road.  (Insert photo)

Upcoming activities include

1.  Dinner on Monday, July 9th, at the Mayan Kitchen, 507 Broad Street 37402, beginning at 6 p.m. RSVP to jckhanum@comcast.net. 

2.  Lunch on Saturday, July 28th, at Cafe and Toast Vietnamese and Singaporean food, 3536 Cummings Highway # 180 37419, beginning at 11:45. RSVP to jckhanum@comcast.net.

3. A celebration of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Moon Festival at Forbidden City, 2273 Gunbarrel Road, 37421 from noon to 2 p.m. More details TBD.

We are expecting visitors, and you have opportunities to get involved!

UTC has asked SCA to host six Russians coming from September 28th until October 6th. Although they won't be from our sister city, they will be here on a State Department sponsored program regarding political party development. Would you be interested in hosting one of these 6? Each host is asked to provide a private bedroom, breakfast daily and dinner much of the time while the participants are here plus transportation to and from UTC. Are you willing to host? Please let Karen or Irina know, by emailing karen@chattanoogasistercities.org or Irina-Khmelko@utc.edu.

Wolfsburg, Germany would like to send a delegation here in late September or in October.  We will need hosts for these guests and people to serve on a committee to help Sabine Busch with planning activities.  As soon as Wolfsburg informs us of the dates and number of delegates, we'll let you know more.

In early 2019 the Thelma Yellin School in Givatayim, Israel will send a student group to Chattanooga, and we have a potential school host with the Chattanooga Stem School. Exact dates are TBD, and we will let you know details. Although the students will probably be staying with families of local students, they want to give a presentation for the greater community. You won't want to miss it! We will need members to help with that event.

Other announcements:

This June Signal Mountain Middle and High School sent a delegation on their annual GAPP School Exchange to Hamm, Germany.  The Hamm students will make the reciprocal visit in September/October this year.

CSAS and CSLA sent a student group to Tono on June 21, the first group from Chattanooga to make this school exchange in ten years.

Let us know of additional sister activity that we might not be aware of!

Many exciting events and activities are ahead for our sister city organization, and we hope you will want to be involved!  We need you!