This past Friday, February 12, 2021, marked the New Year for me and my fellow Asians. With that being said, Happy New Year of the Ox! I grew up with immigrant parents, so Chinese New Year was an important tradition for us to continue and this year was my first year spending it away from my family here at school. The traditions in place have been present for thousands of years. To those who do not celebrate it, it may seem like all we do is receive money, but the history behind it is so much more.
Historically, the Lunar New Year was used to represent the start of work for farmers. It was a one-month long celebration and at the end, it was the beginning of the farming season. Back then, everyone used to farm because there was nothing else, they could do with limited resources except for farmland. Chinese New Year is also a time to remember ancestors. Nowadays, the celebration lasts 15 days from the start of the new year, meaning it ends on February 26th this year. Chinese New Year ends with a festival called “元宵節”. This is the lantern festival where we eat “tang yuan” which are circular sticky rice balls with mostly sweet fillings inside. The Chinese Zodiac Calendar is always seen in a circular shape. Another popular Chinese symbol the Yin and Yang is also circular. As a circular shape, it represents how things come and go.
There are many traditions that people follow during the New Year celebrations. To ward off bad spirits, it is recommended to turn as many lights on in the house as possible on New Year’s Eve. There is also a big feast on New Year’s Eve that I look forward to for the whole week. Dumplings are a staple recipe to eat. Rice cakes are called “nian gao” in Chinese. They are also supposed to be eaten during New Year’s. The “gao” means high in Chinese and rice cakes symbolize going higher and higher every year and being more prosperous than the previous year.
One of the favorite parts of New Year’s for children and youth happens to be the money. Our relatives and parents give us money during New Year’s, and I think that is something most of us look forward to, along with the food. The red packets are a symbol of luck and blessings, so giving people red packets would symbolize giving blessings and receiving them would symbolize receiving blessings. For New Year’s it is also tradition to wear new clothes or wear red. Both are signs of good luck for the year ahead!
Since I will be celebrating the New Year away from home this year it is definitely bittersweet. I did some traditions I would do at home such as turning all my lights on and changing into new clothes. Sadly, I did not have a big feast or eat any of the staple foods. Hopefully I’ll get my red packets when I go back home this semester!