More than 2 billion people worldwide will be saying, “Happy New Year” twice this year — once on Jan.1 and a second time on Jan. 29.
This year, Jan. 29 marks the start of the new year on the lunar or lunisolar calendar. For many Asian communities (including the Vietnamese, Chinese, South Korean, Malaysian, Singaporean, Filipino and Indonesian cultures), the Lunar New Year also represents the start of the spring season.
On the lunisolar calendar, which is based on the moon’s cycles, the Lunar New Year falls on the second new moon after the Winter Solstice on Dec. 21, meaning the date for the celebrations changes every year on the Gregorian calendar.
TRADITIONS AND FESTIVITIES
Each lunar year is associated with one of 12 zodiac animals in the following order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. Although the animals may slightly differ between cultures, legend says the order of these12 animals was determined via a race. The rat snuck on the back of the ox and jumped off to claim first, while the pig overslept and finished last.
The new lunar year in 2025 will be the year of the snake, meaning anyone born in this upcoming year will be associated with the snake. Each animal is associated with various personality traits and lucky numbers, colors and flowers.
By tradition, the animals are also associated with various horoscope predictions, including successes, challenges and compatibility measures in different life activities for the year.
To check one’s zodiac animal, make sure to utilize the lunisolar calendar. For the snake, associated traits include the emergence of wisdom, knowledge, transformation, calmness and creativity.
Another common tradition is the gifting of red envelopes with money inside. Often given by elders to children, the red envelope symbolizes good luck and prosperity for the new year. In exchange, the children offer the elders greetings and well-wishes of health, happiness and success.
Common decorations to celebrate the New Year include paper lanterns, which symbolize the letting go of the past self and welcoming in good fortune for the new year.
Several games may be played. One example is “bầu cua cá cọp,” a Vietnamese gambling game. On the game mat, players wager between six figures: fish, prawn, crab, rooster, calabash and stag. Three six-sided dice (each face has one animal) are rolled; if one’s bet corresponds with at least one of the dice, the bet is won.
At various festivals and parades, a traditional dragon and lion dance drives away evil spirits and draws in good blessings for the community. Two costumed performers, one controlling the head and the other controlling the body, will mimic the movements of lions and dragons to the beats of drums, cymbals and gongs. Those in the crowd may offer red envelopes to the lions and dragons, especially when the performers complete a fancy dancing trick.
To celebrate the Lunar New Year, family reunions and ancestor worship are common practice. Families prepare traditional offerings of food, inviting their ancestors to partake in the celebrations.
For example, bánh tét and bánh chưng, traditional sticky rice cakes, are common for the Vietnamese. The green banana leaf (representing the earth) encloses the mung beans, rice and pork (representing life elements of vegetation and animals).
Before the new year arrives, an important practice is completing a thorough spring cleaning of residences, signifying the removal of negativity and making space for harmony. Once the new year arrives, firecrackers and fireworks light the way into the new year.
It is also believed that the first person to enter a home in the new year will determine the household’s fortunes; therefore, tradition holds that an important person with a lucky zodiac for the new year will be chosen to enter the house.
Although traditions may vary slightly between cultures and even different regions in the same country, the aim is to welcome in a new year of health, prosperity and fortune for all those who celebrate.
This year, the Fountain Valley Recreation Center hosted its annual Lunar New Year festival featuring various games, activities, crafts and history on Jan. 25.
Previously hosted at the OC Fair and Event Center since 2013, the Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of Southern California will host the 43rd UVSA Tet Festival this year in Garden Grove from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2.
As the rest of the year approaches, one hopes it will be filled with good fortune and prosperity for all community members.