Celebrate Lunar New Year around the world

By KIRAN GILL

Lunar New Year, often called Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival, marks the beginning of a new year based on the moon’s phases. Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the lunar calendar’s holiday falls on a different date each year, typically between late January and mid-February.

The festival’s origins can be traced back 3,000 years to the Shang Dynasty of ancient China. Traditionally, it was a time to honor deities and ancestors. It also marked the arrival of spring, a season synonymous with renewal and rebirth.

Lunar New Year is also associated with the tale of Nian, a mythical lion-like beast that terrorized villages each spring. Nian’s reign of terror ended once a wise, older man declared that loud sounds, lights and the color red could repel the animal. As a result, all three of those elements continue to play a vital role in celebrations today.

Though the Lunar New Year is a holiday firmly rooted in Chinese traditions, the holiday has expanded beyond its origins to become a global festivity embraced around the world. The following list showcases how different nations honor the occasion:

Chine

As the most significant Chinese holiday of the year, celebrations typically last about two weeks and begin with families preparing their houses with thorough cleanings. Cleaning symbolizes sweeping away bad luck and making room for good fortune in the new year.

Families gather for meals featuring dishes that represent prosperity, such as fish, dumplings and sticky rice cakes. The holiday’s hallmark activities include firecrackers that ward off evil spirits and parades with lion and dragon dancing.

Red envelopes filled with money, known as “hongba,” are also exchanged as tokens of good luck and blessings from older to younger relatives.

South Korea

In South Korea, Lunar New Year is named Seollal and is a time for honoring ancestors and reconnecting with family. The celebration typically spans three days, during which families partake in memorial rites called “charye.”

Traditional attire, such as the hanbok, are worn and many consume tteokguk, a soup made with rice cakes, symbolizing the passage into a new year and the gaining of another year in age.

Vietnam

Vietnam’s Tết Nguyên Đán, or Tết, is the most important holiday in the country and the significance of familial bonds is stressed.

Preparations begin weeks in advance, with homes meticulously cleaned and adorned with kumquat trees and peach blossoms. Families prepare special dishes such as bánh chưng, a square-shaped sticky rice cake filled with pork and mung beans.

Singapore and Malaysia

In multicultural societies in Singapore and Malaysia, Lunar New Year is celebrated with a vibrant mix of traditions. Chinatown districts in both countries come alive with lantern displays, night markets and performances.

A unique aspect of the Malaysian celebration is the open house tradition, in which families of all ethnicities and religions are invited to share in the festivities, fostering community spirit.

In Singapore, yusheng, a colorful raw-fish salad symbolizing abundance, is eaten on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year.

The Philippines

In the Philippines, Lunar New Year is celebrated with a blend of Chinese and Filipino customs. The holiday is also a time to honor elders by giving gifts and sharing meals.

Many families hold feasts featuring sticky rice cakes and noodles. The celebration often includes dragon and lion dances in urban centers alongside fireworks.

Australie

In Australia, the festivities include Dragon Boat Races, in which teams paddle in elaborately decorated boats to the rhythm of beating drums. These races not only symbolize harmony and teamwork, but also highlight the multicultural fabric of Australian society.

États-Unis

Lunar New Year has gained significant traction in the U.S., particularly in cities with large diasporic populations, such as San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles.

Festivities run the gamut from elaborate parades to community events showcasing traditional music and crafts. The occasion also serves as an opportunity for cultural exchange, inviting people from all backgrounds to learn and partake in its rich traditions.