The following story was reported prior to the mass shooting of a Lunar New Year celebration in Monterey Park, California, on Jan. 22.
This past Sunday, the Lunar New Year bid farewell to the Tiger and welcomed the Year of the Rabbit.
Lunar New Year, sometimes called the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, can be traced back thousands of years in countries along east Asia, and its celebrations center around the hope for good fortune and prosperity.
The date of the holiday changes year to year due to the misalignment between the lunisolar and Gregorian calendars, but it always falls between Jan. 20 and Feb. 21, according to Dr. William Jackson, an assistant professor of history at Salt Lake Community College. A different animal from the Chinese zodiac accompanies each year.
“The Gregorian calendar is used in China today, just like it is almost everywhere, but the old lunisolar calendar still dictates traditional holidays like Chinese New Year,” Jackson explained.
Celebrations across eastern Asia occur on the same day, but many regions outside of China celebrate the holiday with their own distinct interpretations. Differences extend to which animal corresponds to the new year; in Vietnam, for example, 2023 is the Year of the Cat.
19-year-old Rachel Nguyen, a member of Salt Lake Community College’s Asian Student Association (ASA) club, said that while China has influence on Vietnamese culture, the latter retains traditions of its own.
“In different cultures [Lunar New Year] is called different things. I can only speak for Vietnamese culture, but we call it Tết. And I know for Tết we decorate with yellow apricot flowers – they’re called ‘hoa mai’ in Vietnamese,” Nguyen said.
Customs in China for the holiday, Jackson said, consists of family visitation, firecrackers, parties and dance, which often incorporates dancers who manipulate large puppet dragons or lions. The use of red décor is plentiful, signifying happiness, safety and wealth.
“[Red] … is traditionally held to be a powerful deterrent against evil,” Jackson said, adding that one tradition involves giving family and friends a red envelope with money inside.
Jenny Huynh, another member of SLCC’s ASA club who is also from a Vietnamese background like Nguyen, said she follows that tradition with a specific variation.
“It is the older relatives that give the younger generation a red envelope with money in it,” Huynh said. “Lucky money, or ‘li xi,’ is something kids always enjoy. Money, usually in red envelopes, symbolizes luck, but I’ve seen … a variety of colors [used].
Food is another important part of the holiday. Huynh said she cooks noodles from scratch because there is a common belief that the longer one cooks noodles, the longer one lives. She also enjoys ‘banh tet’ and ‘banh chung’ – two Vietnamese staples made from sticky rice, mung beans and pork belly.
Because the spiritual side of the new year is a blessing ceremony, Huynh said, there are no personal resolutions as seen in the west; blessings for good fortune and remembrance for those who came before take its place.
“A feast is made in front of a shrine to offer [our ancestors] good food, and fake money is burned to give ancestors wealth and good fortune in their afterlife,” Huynh said. “The ancestors bless it, we light incense, and then after the ancestors have blessed it – we feast on it. It is a way to honor and remember them.”
Nguyen advises those looking to learn more about the Lunar New Year to directly participate in the celebrations.
“Honestly,” she said, “the best way to get a grasp of the holiday, since there’s so much to it, is to experience it.”
