Chúc Mừng Năm Mới: Happy Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations of the year in East and Southeast Asian cultures, including communities of people from China, Vietnam and others. Vietnamese people refer to the Lunar New Year as Tet and Chinese people call it Chunje in Mandarin. 

On Lunar New Year, one of the 12 zodiac animals is celebrated. The zodiac animals are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. According to history.com, “January 22, 2023 marks the beginning of the lunar new year and is also the start to the year of the rabbit.”  

Each year, different Asian households honor and celebrate with their own unique traditions. Houses are often decorated with red paper banners and flowers both outside and inside. The homes also have messages written in calligraphy about good health and fortune. Children are often given envelopes containing money by elders.  

Chinese New Year’s meals feature foods like glutinous rice ball soup, moon-shaped 

rice cakes and dumplings. Foods containing glutinous rice are popular because they represent unity. Other foods represent abundance, and good fortune. Foods such as the Vietnamese meal; bánh chưng, a rice cake made with mung beans, pork, and other ingredients wrapped in bamboo leaves and caramelized braised pork and eggs called thịt kho tàu.

 UACHS junior Ryan Pham believes that it is crucial to celebrate with family at this time of year because families come together.

“It’s important to celebrate Tet because it shows us representing our culture and a year with good luck and new opportunities,” Pham said. “It’s the time where we get lucky money and be happy with family.” 

As the new year progresses, many fortunes come their way  honoring ancestors from above will guide them towards light, prosperity, and good wealth. 

UACHS freshman Bosco Nguyen believes it’s important to appreciate time with family during this season because people gather to remember and make wishes for blessings and good health in the upcoming year.

“It’s important to celebrate Tet because it’s a tradition passed down from generation to generation,” Nguyen said. “It’s a year of wealth and prosperity, receiving red envelopes with money and praying to our ancestors.”

  As the holidays approach, now is the time to embrace everyone’s culture and acknowledge all of the different holidays. Lunar new year is not just ushering in the year of the rabbit, it is also a fresh start and a time for positivity and beginnings. Remember to wear red to ward off evil spirits and receive good luck. You can also wish friends and colleagues a happy new year by saying “Gong Hei Fat Choy” in Cantonese or “Xin Nian Kuai Le” in Mandarin.