Firecrackers ignite, lion dancers jump and leap, cymbals crash, drums vigorously echo, and gongs explode in sound.
All while hundreds of millions of people celebrate the Lunar New Year, welcoming the year of the snake. Families come together and commemorate the holiday that connects numerous East Asian countries.
Although the Lunar New Year is one holiday, each country has its own unique observance of the annual restarting of the lunisolar calendar.
The holiday in Taiwan, considered the Spring Festival, erupts in parade.
“I see videos every [year of] my family,” Senior Andrew Lee said. “They live in Taipei, and they just [go] crazy. They set up fireworks, and then they have parades [on] the street.”
On the other side of the world, Lee and his family in the United States reunite for the New Year.
“We all went to my grandparents’ house. They’re Cantonese, so we have a big event,” Lee said.
Senior Jeanni Dam’s family, much like Lee’s, reunites for the holiday, considered Tết in Vietnam, and celebrates with symbolic foods.
“If you’re eating something sticky [like xoi], it’s like luck is sticking to you,” Dam said. Xoi is a sticky rice that can be eaten either savory or sweet. The dish is eaten with a variety of toppings, such as pork or mung beans.
In addition to lion dances, Vietnam’s symbol for the New Year is represented by peach or kumquat blossoms.
“[Peach blossom] has to do with prosperity,” Dam said.
Much like those in Vietnam and Taiwan, families in Korea reconnect in celebration of Seollal, Korea’s version of the Lunar New Year.
Senior Seoryung Park calls her relatives back home.
“We Skype my grandparents since we can’t really go visit them anymore,” Park said. “We do a traditional bow. We put on hanboks, and we do a ceremonial bow.” In Korean culture, sebae, a specific type of bowing, is used as a way to respectfully greet others.
“For the men, you put your left hand on top of your right hand and then you bow to the floor,” Park said. “For women, it’s the right hand over the left hand, and usually after that we wish them longevity, health, and prosperity.”
Along with sebae, the traditional foods of Seollal represent good fortune.
“It’s a common tradition in Korea to eat tteokguk on the Lunar New Year, so you gain one more year [of life],” Park said.
Tteokguk is a rice cake soup. The rice cakes are thinly sliced into disks and are usually cooked in a light broth. Park’s family also views Seollal as a day of remembrance for ancestors.
“When I was in Korea, we also had a memorial kind of thing for them,” Park said. “We would have a long paper scribe, like scrolls, and we would prepare a feast for the ancestral offering.”
One tradition found commonly across East Asia is the handing out of lai see or red envelopes. Younger generations of families are the typical recipients of lai see, which are full of cash given by parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and in-laws. Both the red coloring of the envelopes and the gesture of handing them out symbolize goodwill and prosperity.
The same iconic lion dances cover the streets of countries that recognize the holiday. The fast-paced leaping that is joined by ecstatic drumming flow throughout East Asia.
The beauty of the Lunar New Year comes from both its ability to connect nations and its encouragement of a diverse spectrum of traditions. The holiday is an opportunity for many to celebrate and take pride in their Asian heritage.
“I get a stronger sense of family from [Lunar New Year] than any other [holiday],” Dam said, “because it’s more connected to our own culture.” Park says the physical distance between Asian Americans and their family back in their home countries is mended by the holiday.
“Since we’re alone here in America, we don’t have other relatives over here, [and] it’s really hard to celebrate on our own,” Park said. “But knowing that we’re still celebrating the same holiday kind of connects us even though there’s a distance between us.”
