8 Lunar New Year Traditions That You Can Do Too

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8 Lunar New Year Traditions

That You Can Do Too

By Madison Hong ‘23

 

Lunar New Year is a very special time of the year for many people around the world. There are lots of places to be and traditions to do! While some traditions can be more elaborate, these 8 traditions are simple enough to embed into the 15 days people celebrate the new year. You can do one tradition or all 8, it is up to you.

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If you want to learn more about the history of the Lunar New Year and the story of the Chinese zodiacs, read this article that I wrote for last year’s Lunar New Year.

1. Family & Friends

Spending time with family and friends is one of the most important traditions of the Lunar New Year. This time of the year is the busiest time of the year to travel. Family reunion dinners help you start the new year by connecting with loved ones in your life. Gathering together may not be safe right now with COVID but even just a Facetime or Zoom check-in with loved ones will surely brighten their day.

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2. Decorate!

 

Lunar New Year is all about releasing the bad luck from last year and cultivating as much good luck as possible for the new year. One way to ward off bad spirits is to decorate your house with the luck colors, red and gold. There are more traditional decorations such as red banners with phrases in Chinese on them. More subtle decorations would be red paper lanterns and red flowers. 

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3. Spring Cleaning

Before the new year starts, the more you clean the dust away the better. The dirt and dust symbolize back luck from the past year, so we need to sweep and scrub away all of the bad mojo. Once the clock has struck midnight, stop cleaning! If you clean on the first day of the new year, you might be brushing away good luck instead of bad luck!

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4. Sharing Good Fortunes

 

Another tradition for Lunar New Year is to pass out red envelopes to children and unmarried family members. The red color symbolizes wealth, and the envelopes are usually decorated with Chinese characters or the zodiac of the upcoming new year. Next year is the year of the tiger, so red envelopes may have a golden tiger on the front. It is also very easy to get red envelopes from Amazon or you might be able to ask for a few at the bank. Inside the envelopes are a cash gifts ranging from a few dollars to quite hefty amounts depending on the relationship with the recipient. 

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5. Watch a Traditional Dance or Show

Around the world, there are different festivals that you can see. San Francisco has its annual Lunar New Year parade complete with lots of lions, dragons, and the special fireworks. The fireworks make loud popping sounds to ward off evil spirits. Unfortunately due to the surges of COVID cases, SF will not be having a parade but there are several vibrant dances that you can watch online or in the streets of Chinatown.

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6. New Look

New Year, new you! After a good spring cleaning, people like to reward themselves with a shopping spree. Typically, the clothes bought are vibrant colors such as red and gold but stay away from colors black and white which are reserved for funerals. In some parts of China it is bad luck to buy new shoes since the word for shoe sounds like sighing, which is too negative for a happy time. 

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7. Eating Traditional Food

Lunar New Year involves food, lots of symbolic food. Each region has its own traditional food along with the more common foods such as mandarin oranges, candied fruit and fish. In Chinese culture foods are chosen because their name is similar to the words abundance, luck or prosperity. Fish is an increase in prosperity, dumplings and spring rolls are for wealth, sweet rice balls symbolize family togetherness, and many other foods are eaten for a good year. Traditional Vietnamese dishes are peanut brittle, coconut candy, and banh chung—a steamed rice cake with pork stuffing wrapped in banana leaves. In Korea, teokguk, a soup with clear broth and white rice cakes, symbolizes a clean mind and body for the new year.

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8. Wear Red and Gold 

Last but not least, wearing red on the first day is a simple tradition to continue warding off evil spirits. You can wear the colors from head to toe or use the lucky colors as accents to a more everyday outfit. 

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Credits

Written By: Madison Hong

Edited By: Samantha Lynch

Cover Photo from Etsy

Photos from Google

References

Crabtree, Chloe-Rose. “Rituals and Customs to Celebrate Chinese New Year.” Culture Trip, 31 Mar. 2021, https://theculturetrip.com/asia/china/articles/10-chinese-new-year-traditions/.

Kuo, Evelyne. “10 Essential Lunar New Year Traditions for Celebrating around the World.” Remitly, 5 Jan. 2022, https://blog.remitly.com/lifestyle-culture/lunar-new-year-traditions/. 

 

Mercy Media Edition 5

January 27th 2022

mercymedia@mercyhsb.com

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