Although some may think that the new year only represents new beginnings, it also represents a different animal each year for the Lunar New Year. The Lunar New Year is also known as the Chinese New Year and is celebrated between January 21st and February 20th. Every year the day the New Year is celebrated is different due to it following the lunar calendar compared to the calendar we normally follow, which is the Gregorian calendar.
One special thing about the Lunar New Year is that it follows a twelve-year cycle with each year linked to an animal. The twelve animals are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. This means that even the year you were born ties back to an animal. For SHS students, the most common years and animals would be if you were born in 2006, then your animal is the dog, if 2007, then you’re the pig, 2008 is the rat, 2009 is the ox, and if born in 2010, then you’re the ox.
The animals aren’t only a fun representation of each year, they are actually believed to bring certain aspects of traits to whichever year you are born in. These impact fortune, relationships, and personalities.
Even though the year is coming to an end, this was the year of the dragon. The year of the dragon would relate to the most recent years, of 2000, 2012, and 2024. If you are born in the year of the dragon, you would possess related traits and characteristics of the dragon. This would include being ambitious, confident and full of energy. They are naturally gifted and lucky, but some negative traits they may show are arrogance, irritability, subjectivity, and may be reluctant to accept defeat.
The Chinese New Year is celebrated to honor ancestors and welcome the new and good, while saying goodbye to the old and bad. Some other common traditions include the exorcism of evil spirits and praying for a good harvest. But a new year also means festivities. Many fun activities include the lion dance, dragon dance, temple fairs, and many more. You may recognize the dragon dance and lion dance since they are popular traditions where people are dressed in the costumes of the animals and can be seen in festivals dancing around. Seminole High School junior, Katelyn, says her favorite part of the holiday is “spending time with family and getting the red envelopes. Since I am not Chinese, my traditions are a bit different, but we still dress in traditional clothing and see lion or dragon dances.”
SHS junior, Kaylen Dao, shares how she celebrates the new year: “We usually dress up in our traditional clothes, Áo dài, and go to the temple where we meet a bunch of other family members and just people who come to celebrate it with us. Since I’m still a kid and not married I get red envelopes from the older adults who are married. There’s also the fire crackers, dragon dancers, and some other games we play like the gambling game Bầu cua cá cọp. For food, we usually eat noodles and have a little feast. There’s also a superstition to clean before the new years to avoid any bad luck. The whole holiday is basically hanging out with family.” The red envelopes mentioned represent good wishes and luck for the new year and contain money inside.
The Lunar New Year is a special holiday bringing good luck and to celebrate the dragon. This upcoming year’s animal will be the snake, so be on the lookout for what it will represent!