Join us as we explore the vibrant traditions of Lunar New Year, celebrated by Asian communities worldwide. Learn about the origins of this lunisolar festival, the symbolic foods associated with good luck, and the fascinating stories behind the Chinese Zodiac animals.
Every winter, Asian communities around the world celebrate the Lunar New Year with vibrant carnivals, delicious food, joyous family gatherings, lively parades, and much more. This festival, known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam, and Seollal in South Korea, signifies the arrival of spring and the beginning of the lunisolar calendar. Because the lunar calendar is tied to the moon's phases, the new year falls on a different date each year.
Each month, the new year begins on the new moon that occurs closest to the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. This typically places the holiday between January 21st and February 20th.Communities often come together for parades, dazzling fireworks displays, energetic music, and festive carnivals in the days following the New Year. In homes, families decorate windows with intricate red paper cuttings, adorn doors with couplets expressing their hopes and wishes for the new year, and arrange fruits and flowers throughout the house in the weeks leading up to the celebration. Many also engage in the tradition of cleaning and cutting their hair before the new year, believing this act clears away any lingering bad luck from the previous year. It is thought that performing these actions during the New Year celebration might inadvertently negate any good fortune the new year might bring.Learning about the Lunar New Year, a celebration of spring's arrival, and the foods associated with good luck and fortune in the coming year can be a fascinating journey. Many people enjoy fish, which symbolizes abundance and prosperity. On the final day of the holiday, known as the Lantern Festival, people savor sweet rice balls called tangyuan. Other popular celebratory foods include golden spring rolls and dumplings, believed to bring wealth and success, leafy greens for financial abundance, and noodles, representing a wish for a long and healthy life. Each year is associated with one of the 12 animals in the Chinese Zodiac calendar cycle: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, or pig. Each animal is believed to impart specific characteristics to the year it represents. According to an ancient Chinese legend, a god once invited all animals to bid him farewell before his departure from earth. However, only 12 animals heeded the call. These 12 are now honored in the Chinese Zodiac. The Vietnamese Zodiac has slight variations, celebrating the cat instead of the rabbit and the buffalo instead of the ox. Other Asian cultures also have unique interpretations of the Zodiac
Lunar New Year Spring Festival Tet Seollal Chinese Zodiac Traditions Food Symbolism Asian Cultures
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