Do not argue, eat a lot of fish: how to celebrate the Lunar New Year

Luck, wealth and good fortune are the feelings behind every greeting during the celebration of the Lunar New Year, a multi-day holiday that marks the beginning of spring and the new year.

In many cultures that follow the lunar calendar, the new year is celebrated on the day of the new moon, which falls between January 21 and February 20 in the Gregorian calendar.

Family and luck are the focus of most Lunar New Year celebrations, and how events unfold over the course of the new year is often seen as an indication of how the rest of the year will go.

Have you been invited to a Lunar New Year celebration but don’t know what to wear, what to say or what to do? While traditions vary between countries, regions, and even families, here are some tips from experts that can keep anyone out of trouble in 2023.

Who celebrates the Lunar New Year?

While many countries in Southeast or East Asia have been influenced by Chinese culture to base their celebrations on the Chinese lunar calendar, there are some that follow the Gregorian calendar for both everyday business and cultural celebrations.

Julie Zhu, Mellon Community Curator at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC), was born in Hangzhou, China and grew up celebrating Chinese New Year with her family before she moved to Japan. There she celebrated Shogatsu – Japanese New Year – when most of her neighbors did it.

“The Japanese celebrate New Year on January 1, just like the Americans,” Zhu said. “[Japan] completely changed their calendar to learn from Western countries.”

It was in 1872 that Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar and other Western concepts in an attempt to modernize the country, according to the National Diet Library of Japan. This will also be the last year that Japan celebrates the Lunar Spring Festival.

Tsagaan Sar, or the Mongolian Lunar New Year, is another New Year celebration that follows a separate calendar – its own. According to the Ulaanbaatar city tourism department, Mongolians celebrate the White Moon Festival on the first three days of the lunar month.

This year, the White Moon Festival falls on February 22, a full month ahead of the Lunar New Year on January 22.

Countries that may celebrate the Lunar New Year include China (Chundzhi), Korea (sollal), Vietnam (That), Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and other countries with a large overseas Asian community.

For those who celebrate the Chinese New Year, this year is the Year of the Rabbit. For those who celebrate Tet, this is the year of the Cat.

How to prepare for the Lunar New Year?

Like some Western superstitions, people who observe the Lunar New Year traditionally start with a clean slate.

For most, this means a thorough cleaning of the house in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year.

Nancy Yao, president of the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) in New York, says that celebrating the New Year with a clean house, new clothes, and a fresh mindset is an essential part of the Lunar New Year.

“Clean up before the Lunar New Year,” Yao says. “But don’t raise your hand on New Year’s Day. Do not do that”.

What happens during the new year indicates how the rest of the year will go.

“The superstition associated with the New Year is that everything good should be at the beginning of the year because that will be representative of the next 365 days,” Yao said.

It is because of this superstition that Miquel Le, manager of the Vietnamese American Service Center (VASC) in Santa Clara, California, advises you to pay off your debts in advance.

“If you start the new year in debt, you will be in debt for the rest of the year,” Le said.

It is also customary to fill your home with fresh flowers and fruits to welcome spring, as well as prepare a new set of colorful clothes to wear when meeting with family and friends in the new year.

Both flowers and clothing should be bright – safe choices are red or yellow and pink, but not dark, black or white.

“Here in Western culture, we wear black to funerals,” Le said. “In Vietnam and China, when there are funerals, people wear white.”

What is the etiquette for celebrating the Lunar New Year?

The first visit of the year is decisive in Vietnam. Song At, “first pillar” is the belief that the person who arrives first sets the tone for the rest of the year. Families often choose a person who is lucky, wealthy, or generally compatible with the rest of the family to visit for a few minutes.

Visiting a Vietnamese family at the beginning The uninvited one is a serious mistake, as it is believed that visitors deemed incompatible bring bad luck to the family.

“People take it very seriously,” Le said. “You don’t want to invite yourself into someone’s house without knowing if you’re needed.”

In many families celebrating the Lunar New Year, people usually visit the oldest ones first to wish them a Happy New Year before moving down the family tree. Children can bow or bow low to their grandparents and exchange wishes for a good year before receiving their red packet.

People celebrating in China may also salute with palms and fists to wish others a happy new year, Zhu said. The palm and fist greeting is commonly used in greetings during the Lunar New Year, weddings, and other joyful cultural occasions.

1. Make a fist with one hand, then bend the other hand over the fist. In women, the right hand should be on top. For men, this should be the left hand.
2. Shake both three times in front of the other person, wishing them good luck and a happy new year.

For Yao, the most important etiquette to follow during New Year’s celebrations is to make the day happy, peaceful, and harmonious.

“Try not to cry,” she advised. “Don’t get into an argument.”

Some others do not include:

• Cleaning and sweeping in the early days of the Lunar New Year – you clean up your luck
• Get into arguments or fights with family or loved ones
• Visiting other households if there has been a recent death in your family
• Talk about sad or negative things, such as illness, disaster, or other bad news.
• Doing work or industriousness in the days after the New Year

Giving (or receiving) red envelopes for the Lunar New Year

These little packages of red and gold are perhaps the most iconic part of many joyous occasions and holidays, but they are also one of the most intricate rituals to partake in.

Known as Hong Bao in Mandarin, lay see. in Cantonese and li si in Vietnamese, red packets are a traditional cash gift given by the giver to the recipient as a wish for good luck during weddings, birthdays, and the Lunar New Year.

It’s easy to focus on the monetary aspect of a gift, but in this case it’s not what’s inside that matters.

“When we [talk about] red envelope, we should also mention red, the color of the Chinese people,” Zhu said.

Lunar New Year decorations are usually colored red, shorthand for many important aspects of traditional culture. According to Zhu, red symbolizes the color of the sun that gives life, as well as the color of the blood that circulates in the human body. And it’s easy to see what money symbolizes – wealth, prosperity, good luck and fortune.

When you put a cash gift in a red envelope and seal it, you are essentially wrapping the symbol of prosperity in a symbol of life. This is to ensure that the luck stays locked up and cannot escape.

How much to put in a red envelope for the Lunar New Year?

The symbol of this prosperity can be in any even amount as long as it works within your budget.

Yao recommends new $2, $6, or $8 bills wrapped and sealed in new, never-before-used red envelopes. Recipients closest to the donor may receive more—$20, $50, or $108—as a token of good wishes or affection.

But whatever amount you choose, don’t choose $4.

“Four is a homonym for death,” Yao said, “everything connected with death is not good.” [for the new year].”

Who gives these red envelopes and who receives them?

Who gives and who receives may differ from region to region or even family to family.

For Le of VASC, the tradition is usually a gesture of love from community elders and married couples to children and the unmarried.

“[Those who give] li si usually it is the eldest who is married. Elder brother or sister. Mother. Dad. Grandma and grandpa,” Le said. “The host will be younger, not older.”

How about a gift for a younger family member? li si someone older?

“It’s not a rude gesture,” Le said, “it’s just rarely practiced.”

There are no strict rules for giving red envelopes, so don’t be surprised if your elderly parents ask for their packages as a token of your New Year’s affection.

If you receive packages, be sure to open them in private – it is considered bad form to open envelopes in front of the donor.

The Year of the Rat begins on January 25th and with it comes the exchange of red envelopes to mark the occasion.

What should you eat during the Lunar New Year?

The traditional dishes that appear during the Lunar New Year dinner tend to be homonyms for words related to luck, fortune and family, or foods that resemble favorite symbols of wealth and prosperity.

That’s why you can see a whole fish on Lunar New Year’s Eve. The word for fish in Chinese you, according to Zhu, has the same pronunciation as the word “abundance”. Eating a whole fish for the New Year symbolizes abundant food, money, and good luck in the new year.

“You can’t cut [the fish]Zhu said. – A whole fish on the table.

Tang Yuan, a glutinous rice flour soup stuffed with black sesame is another traditional dish that anyone who wants to keep their family whole and whole for the next year can eat.

Some families may also serve noodles, which Yao says means long life. Oranges and tangerines for goodness and gold. Candies and sweets as a sign of hope for the coming days.

However, the most beloved food for the Lunar New Year may be dumplings – the food that looks closest to yuanbaoor Chinese gold bar.

According to Zhu, there is a small tradition, particularly with dumplings. The one who makes dumplings can put a small coin into one of the dumplings – and the one who eats the dumpling along with the coin will get the most luck in the new year.

Whether or not you find a lucky coin dumpling by following the tips above, you should at least keep yourself out of mischief until the next Spring Festival.