By Natalie Osorio
Lunar New Year is an incredible time of the year, a time where families gather to be thankful for the year past, and grateful for the year to come. Lunar New Year, Chinese Chunjie, Vietnamese Tet, Korean Solnal, Tibetan Losar, also called the Spring festival, is celebrated in China and other Asian countries beginning with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends with the first full moon, 15 days later. In the Chinese zodiac traditions, 2023 is the year of the rabbit. In the Vietnamese and Gurung (central Nepal) zodiac, the cat replaces the rabbit. In Malay zodiac, the mouse deer replaces the rabbit. Since this calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, the dates of the holiday vary from year to year. About 10 days before the beginning of the new year, houses are thoroughly cleaned to remove bad luck that might be lingering, a custom known as, “sweeping of the grounds.” On New Year’s day, family members receive red envelopes (lai see) which contain money. Dances combined with fireworks are common throughout the holidays, finishing with the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated on the last day of the New Year’s celebrations. On this evening, colorful lanterns light up the homes, and traditional foods such as yuanxiao (rice balls that symbolize family unity), fagao (prosperity cake), and yusheng (raw fish and vegetable salad) are served. The origins of this festival are thousands of years old and held in legends. One legend is abou Nina, a beast believed to feast on human flesh on this day. Because he feared the color red, loud noises, and fire, red paper decorations were pasted to doors, lanterns were burned throughout the evening, and firecrackers were lit to frighten the beast. Lunar new year is a celebration of the arrival of spring and the start of the new year pertaining to the Lunisolar calendar. It is the most important holiday in China, and widely celebrated in South Korea, Vietnam, and countries with a great amount of overseas territory. This festival is commonly known as the Spring Festival in China. Lunar New Year is a fifteen-day celebration marked by several traditions. In the household, families decorate windows with red decorations and hand couplets expressing wishes for the New Year. Shopping for holiday “sun dry” foods in open-air markets and cleaning the house are also popular traditions. The New Year’s Eve dinner is the highlight that kicks off the holiday. The feast includes symbolic dishes such as whole fish (which represents abundance), and brings good luck and fortune. The fifteenth day of the holiday is the Lantern Festival, and on this day people have tangyuan (rice balls). Children also carry lanterns in the neighborhood to mark the end of the celebration. This year Carey demonstrated the positive attitude for the new year ahead by decorating the first floor for the festivity. The Asian Society club hung Red banners and other decorations in the first-floor hallway of the school to show the new year spirit. Everyone was delighted to see the first floor transformed into a colorful masterpiece!
I hope you have many blessings in this new Lunar Year!
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