Sally Lor
Feb 20, 2024
Chinese New Year happens every February 10th to celebrate a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. This year is the year of the Dragon. Around the world there are many people who celebrate it in many ways, showing off their culture. In China, they show it off by a 15-day festival. It begins starting with the full moon staring between the end of January and beginning of February and ends on the following full moon. There are many different cultures who celebrate this holiday, but not necessarily all Asians celebrate this holiday. Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, South Korea, Malasia and many more are the ones to celebrate this holiday.
Did you know that the word for “Orange” sounds familiar to the word “good luck” or “wealth” in Chinese, which is why oranges are often gifted as s gift during Chinese New Year. Its a way of granting someone good luck for the following year. Every Lunar year Chinese and other southeast Asian societies gift others a red money envelope called “hóngbāo” in Mandarin. The red envelope contain cash in there with the money amount of even numbers but avoiding the number 4. Just like every other reasoning, the money envelope is a sign of good luck.
One of my favorites traditions of Chinese New Years is the lion/dragon dance. It's a tradition to bring good fortune to the community. The lion dance was imported from China into the Vietnamese culture. It's performed by normally 2 dancers, one acting as the head and the other acting as the body. The lion represents strength, stability, and superiority, while the dragon represents power, boldness, and excellence. Going back to the red envelope you’re also able to “feed” the envelope into the lion's mouth as they dance, again as a sign of good luck.
With all the information about Chinese new year's and the interesting yet cultural of their celebration, Chinese new year's bring family together and excitement to the community. Many cultures have different ways of showing off their culture and this is just one of the many different culture celebrations.