Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Year of the Dragon: Understanding Saturday's Lunar New Year and Its Celebrations
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 1 year ago on
February 8, 2024

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Asian American communities celebrate Lunar New Year

2024 is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac

Lunar New Year traditions include red decorations and ancestor worship


On Saturday, Asian American communities around the U.S. will ring in the Year of the Dragon with community carnivals, family gatherings, parades, traditional food, fireworks, and other festivities. In many Asian countries, it is a festival that is celebrated for several days. In diaspora communities, particularly in cultural enclaves, Lunar New Year is visibly and joyfully celebrated.

In the Chinese zodiac, 2024 is the Year of the Dragon. Different countries across Asia celebrate the new year in many ways and may follow a different zodiac.

Understanding the Lunar New Year

The Lunar New Year — known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea — is a major festival celebrated in several Asian countries. It is also widely celebrated by diaspora communities around the world.

It begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends 15 days later on the first full moon. Because the lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, the dates of the holiday vary slightly each year, falling between late January and mid-February.

The Zodiac Animals

Each year honors an animal based on the Chinese zodiac. The circle of 12 animals — the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig — measure the cycles of time. Legend has it that a god beckoned all animals to bid him farewell before his departure from earth and only 12 of them showed up. The Vietnamese zodiac is slightly different, honoring the cat instead of the rabbit and the buffalo instead of the ox.

Beliefs and Traditions of Lunar New Year

One well-known ancient legend speaks of Nian, a hideous monster that feasted on human flesh on New Year’s Day. Because the beast feared the color red, loud noises and fire, people put up red paper dragons on their doors, burned red lanterns all night and set off firecrackers to frighten and chase away the monster.

To this day, the Lunar New Year celebration is centered around removing bad luck and welcoming all that is good and prosperous. Red is considered an auspicious color to ring in the new year. In many Asian cultures, the color symbolizes good fortune and joy. People dress up in red attire, decorate their homes with red paper lanterns and use red envelopes to give loved ones and friends money for the new year, symbolizing good wishes for the year ahead. Gambling and playing traditional games is common during this time across cultures.

Ancestor worship is also common during this time. Many Korean families participate in a ritual called “charye,” where female family members prepare food and male members serve it to ancestors. The final step of the ceremony, called “eumbok,” involves the entire family partaking the food and seeking blessings from their ancestors for the coming year. Vietnamese people cook traditional dishes and place them on a home altar as a mark of respect to their ancestors.

Some Indigenous people also celebrate Lunar New Year this time of year, including members of Mexico’s Purepecha Indigenous group.

Diaspora Communities and Lunar New Year

Members of Asian American communities around the U.S. also organize parades, carnivals, and festivities around the Lunar New Year featuring lion and dragon dances, fireworks, traditional food and cultural performances. In addition to cleaning their homes, many buy new things for their home such as furniture, and decorate using orchids and other brightly colored flowers.

Lunar New Year is also celebrated as a cultural event by some Asian American Christians and is observed by several Catholic dioceses across the U.S. as well as other churches.

Special Foods for the New Year

Each culture has its own list of special foods during the new year, including dumplings, rice cakes, spring rolls, tangerines, fish, and meats. In Chinese culture, for example, “changshou mian” or “long-life noodles” are consumed with a wish for a long, healthy, and happy life. In Vietnamese culture, banh chung and banh tet — traditional dishes made from glutinous rice — are a must for the celebrations. To make a banh tet, banana leaves are lined with rice, soft mung beans and pork belly and rolled into a tight log, which is then wrapped in the leaves and tied up with strings. Koreans celebrate with tteokguk, a brothy soup that contains thinly sliced rice cakes.

 

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

How California Homeless Programs Are Helping People Get Fit and off the Streets: ‘It’s the Bike’

DON'T MISS

Protesters in Fresno Rally Against Tesla and Elon Musk

DON'T MISS

Trump Considers Massive Extension of Travel Ban Targeting Up to 43 Countries

DON'T MISS

George Soros and Elon Musk Clash in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

DON'T MISS

Romania’s Democracy Tested as Court Blocks Controversial Presidential Bid

DON'T MISS

Trump Orders Strikes on Houthi Rebels in Yemen, Issues New Warning to Iran

DON'T MISS

Merced Kicks Off $3.5 Million Bob Hart Square Renovation

DON'T MISS

Playing Political Whac-A-Mole As Issue Of Bond Measure Language Pops Up Again

DON'T MISS

A Loophole in California Law Makes It Hard to Prosecute Threats Against Schools. Will Lawmakers Close It?

DON'T MISS

Rubio Says South Africa’s Ambassador to the US ‘Is No Longer Welcome’ in the Country

UP NEXT

Protesters in Fresno Rally Against Tesla and Elon Musk

UP NEXT

Trump Considers Massive Extension of Travel Ban Targeting Up to 43 Countries

UP NEXT

George Soros and Elon Musk Clash in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

UP NEXT

Romania’s Democracy Tested as Court Blocks Controversial Presidential Bid

UP NEXT

Trump Orders Strikes on Houthi Rebels in Yemen, Issues New Warning to Iran

UP NEXT

Merced Kicks Off $3.5 Million Bob Hart Square Renovation

UP NEXT

Playing Political Whac-A-Mole As Issue Of Bond Measure Language Pops Up Again

UP NEXT

A Loophole in California Law Makes It Hard to Prosecute Threats Against Schools. Will Lawmakers Close It?

UP NEXT

Rubio Says South Africa’s Ambassador to the US ‘Is No Longer Welcome’ in the Country

UP NEXT

Dodgers’ Star Mookie Betts Sidelined in Japan With Flu-Like Symptoms

George Soros and Elon Musk Clash in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

1 day ago

Romania’s Democracy Tested as Court Blocks Controversial Presidential Bid

1 day ago

Trump Orders Strikes on Houthi Rebels in Yemen, Issues New Warning to Iran

1 day ago

Merced Kicks Off $3.5 Million Bob Hart Square Renovation

1 day ago

Playing Political Whac-A-Mole As Issue Of Bond Measure Language Pops Up Again

1 day ago

A Loophole in California Law Makes It Hard to Prosecute Threats Against Schools. Will Lawmakers Close It?

1 day ago

Rubio Says South Africa’s Ambassador to the US ‘Is No Longer Welcome’ in the Country

1 day ago

Dodgers’ Star Mookie Betts Sidelined in Japan With Flu-Like Symptoms

2 days ago

US Imposes Sanctions on Thai Officials After Uyghur Men Are Deported to China

2 days ago

Shohei Ohtani Hits 2-Run HR in Return to Japan Against Yomiuri Giants

2 days ago

How California Homeless Programs Are Helping People Get Fit and off the Streets: ‘It’s the Bike’

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Robert Brown had tried everything for his pain, from acupu...

14 hours ago

14 hours ago

How California Homeless Programs Are Helping People Get Fit and off the Streets: ‘It’s the Bike’

1 day ago

Protesters in Fresno Rally Against Tesla and Elon Musk

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Pool via AP)
1 day ago

Trump Considers Massive Extension of Travel Ban Targeting Up to 43 Countries

1 day ago

George Soros and Elon Musk Clash in Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

1 day ago

Romania’s Democracy Tested as Court Blocks Controversial Presidential Bid

1 day ago

Trump Orders Strikes on Houthi Rebels in Yemen, Issues New Warning to Iran

1 day ago

Merced Kicks Off $3.5 Million Bob Hart Square Renovation

1 day ago

Playing Political Whac-A-Mole As Issue Of Bond Measure Language Pops Up Again

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend