Lunar New Year, commonly known as Chinese New Year (or Spring Festival), is a celebration often considered the most important holiday in many Asian countries as well as in China. It is the beginning of a calendar year whose months are moon cycles based on the lunar calendar. This year, Lunar New Year begins on Sunday, January 22, 2023 and welcomes in the Year of the Rabbit. Legend states that the Chinese New Year stemmed from an ancient battle against the Nian, a beast that showed up every Lunar New Year’s Eve to eat people and livestock. To scare away the monster, people displayed red paper, burned bamboo, lit candles, and wore red clothes. This is the basis for the traditional festivities which include family meals together, giving red envelopes with money to children, lighting lanterns and lots of fireworks!
As a first-generation Chinese-American born in the US, I spent most of my childhood in Texas (Fort Worth & Houston) with a mix of family traditions (Chinese and American) coming from my parents who were born in China and moved here to go to graduate school (where they met at the University of Iowa!). Since their parents (my grandparents) were educated in the US, they celebrated the same holidays as Americans and the West including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.
Although we had strong Chinese cultural roots in our family when growing up, there was a true mix of traditions throughout the year. For Lunar New Year… we would not practice all the traditions, but we would often feast on dumplings and other delicious Chinese dishes, and my parents gave out red envelopes which continues even today from my mother to all our family members.
I had the amazing opportunity to live abroad, first in Paris (where I met my wonderful French husband), and later we lived in Beijing for 4 years while our kids were very young. We were able to fully experience the amazing celebrations of the Spring Festival during Lunar New Year – our biggest memories were the incredible fireworks that would last for hours across Beijing at midnight! Now back in Houston where my mom lives, I am so grateful to have this multi-cultural life with many different American, Chinese, and French cultures, languages and traditions woven through our family.
Wishing you all a very Happy New Year with health, prosperity and happiness during 2023, both for our calendar and for the Lunar New Year!