While sometimes called Chinese New Year, the Lunar New Year is actually celebrated all throughout the world by people of different cultures. In fact, more than 20% of the world’s population (that’s more than 1.5 billion people!) celebrate this festive holiday.
Things go badly for Katheryn on a special day – her parents' Lunar New Year celebration. But luckily friends helping a friend also helps the community!
It’s Chinese New Year, which means a big feast, red envelopes, and friends and family all together! Kai-lan and her friends are thrilled because this year, they are old enough to carry the huge dragon costume.
"One of my favorite traditions is to put a red envelope under my 3-year-old's pillow on Lunar New Year's Eve. We call it "stacking our luck" for the New Year in Chinese. He thinks it's so funny! I also love taking my kids to watch the Lion Dances in Chinatown. They're so festive, full of energy and a feeling of tradition. My kids love popping confetti and then dancing around in it."
Winnie Cheung
"Pre-COVID my family would make a reservation at a restaurant months in advance and invite friends that don’t typically celebrate Lunar New Year to join us for a giant feast. We’d usually order roast suckling pig, lots of seafood, noodles and so much more! Looking forward to when we can eventually safely do this again."
Ava Wang
"My family has a huge home cook meal and invite both maternal and paternal grandparents so we have everyone altogether. We'll also pay respect to ancestors by doing a small ceremony - burning 3 incenses in the house and bowing towards it. We also all wear a new clothing item (something as small as socks count!), and get a haircut a few days prior to Lunar New Year."
Joanna Chak
"My family makes dumplings from scratch and dumpling soup with rice cake in it"
Jae Kwon
"We light firecrackers from the house starting at midnight to bring in the Lunar New Year. We avoid working, washing our hair, or taking out the trash, which superstitions say bring bad luck. We also go to temple and show respect to our ancestors with offerings, like cooking their favorite food, and lighting incense."
Trang Vo
"We follow a few traditions, like a hot pot dinner to celebrate with noodles for longevity and dumplings for prosperity. We do a thorough cleaning before Lunar New Year, and on the actual day, we avoid superstitions, such as not cleaning the house or washing hair, which supposedly sweeps or washes away good luck."
Robyn Tang
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"One of my favorite traditions is to put a red envelope under my 3-year-old's pillow on Lunar New Year's Eve. We call it "stacking our luck" for the New Year in Chinese. He thinks it's so funny! I also love taking my kids to watch the Lion Dances in Chinatown. They're so festive, full of energy and a feeling of tradition. My kids love popping confetti and then dancing around in it."
Winnie Cheung
"Pre-COVID my family would make a reservation at a restaurant months in advance and invite friends that don’t typically celebrate Lunar New Year to join us for a giant feast. We’d usually order roast suckling pig, lots of seafood, noodles and so much more! Looking forward to when we can eventually safely do this again."
Ava Wang
"My family has a huge home cook meal and invite both maternal and paternal grandparents so we have everyone altogether. We'll also pay respect to ancestors by doing a small ceremony - burning 3 incenses in the house and bowing towards it. We also all wear a new clothing item (something as small as socks count!), and get a haircut a few days prior to Lunar New Year."
Joanna Chak
"My family makes dumplings from scratch and dumpling soup with rice cake in it."
Jae Kwon
"We light firecrackers from the house starting at midnight to bring in the Lunar New Year. We avoid working, washing our hair, or taking out the trash, which superstitions say bring bad luck. We also go to temple and show respect to our ancestors with offerings, like cooking their favorite food, and lighting incense."
Trang Vo
"We follow a few traditions, like a hot pot dinner to celebrate with noodles for longevity and dumplings for prosperity. We do a thorough cleaning before Lunar New Year, and on the actual day, we avoid superstitions, such as not cleaning the house or washing hair, which supposedly sweeps or washes away good luck."
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