The Lunar New Year, which is also known as the Spring Festival in China, is one of the most important and widely celebrated festivals in Asia. It marks the beginning of a new year on the lunar calendar, which is based on the cycles of the moon.
Unlike the Gregorian calendar, the date of the Lunar New Year varies each year, usually falling between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20.
The origins of the Lunar New Year are deeply rooted in ancient tradition and mythology. In Chinese culture, it is believed that the festival began as a way to ward off the mythical bear Nian, who would come on the first day of the New Year to devour crops, livestock, and even villagers. To scare away Nian, people used loud noises, firecrackers, and the color red. These are all essential parts of the celebration today.
Many students celebrate Lunar New Year in so many different ways.
Although Lunar New Year isn’t a national holiday in Japan, senior Daisy McLean is a half-Japanese student who celebrates Lunar New Year. McLean celebrates with family, mentioning how her grandparents usually send Hina-Ningyo dolls from Japan, and how she clears space for them and places them on display. These dolls are a way to symbolize offerings to royalty.
McLean describes her experiences in the past of Lunar New Year to be very “fun and festive,” and that in her family when it’s their year, they go off to a temple and get a special blessing. As a child, McLean went to a Japanese school and read books and sang songs in Japanese about Lunar New Year, Girl’s Day, and Setsubun, other cultural holidays and festivals in Asia.
Preparations for the Lunar New Year begin weeks in advance. Families clean their homes thoroughly to sweep away any bad luck from the previous year and make room for good fortune. This practice is known as “sweeping the dust.”
Homes are decorated with red lanterns, paper cutouts that symbolize prosperity, longevity, and happiness, and couplets. The color red is significant because it represents good luck and is believed to ward off evil spirits.
One of the most important aspects of the Lunar New Year is the reunion dinner that is held on New Year’s Eve. This meal is a time for family and friends to come together and have dinner together, featuring traditional dishes which all have their own symbolic meanings. For example, fish is served to represent abundance, rice cakes signify progress and growth, and dumplings symbolize wealth.
Lunar New Year is associated with a specific zodiac animal each year, and each animal occurs every 12 years. The year 2025 is the Year of the Snake, which is associated with charm, elegance, transformation, and wisdom. The Year of the Snake is the sixth animal in the 12-year cycle and is often associated with strategy, intelligence, and intuition.
