Background Information
Lunar New Year was China’s most recent major holiday. It is China’s new year based on the lunar calendar. This year was the year of the pig which is one of the twelve zodiacs. The pig symbolizes many different things such as honesty and wealth. In ancient times, if a person was fat, they were said to be affluent because they had money to eat a lot of food. Therefore, people born in the year of the pig are said to be wealthy because pigs are chubby.
Lunar New Year Customs
- Family reunion dinner. Typically, families will gather for a sumptuous reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve
- Red envelopes
- Firecrackers and fireworks
- Lion and dragon dances
- Decorating
- House cleaning
- Eating nian gao, mandarin oranges, and dumplings
- Praying at the temple
Lunar New Year celebrated in New York
In Chinatown, New York City goes all out with festive events and dinners offering traditional dancing and performances to celebrate the New Year. This party features all sorts of vendors, food and activities for all ages to welcome the Year of the Pig. The parade wended its way through the main streets of Little Italy and Chinatown. A related celebration, the fire cracker, takes place on February 5, the first day of the Lunar New Year.
Great article! It’s amazing to see all these customs about Chinese New Year. I never realized what the pig symbolized. But, I do not understand how the pig resembles wealth due to how chubby it is. The parades are amazing with the firecrackers and all the lion dances.
This article was very informative. I knew that the Chinese had a new year like America, but I never knew the significance. I also never knew what the pig symbolized. It is also interesting to see what the Chinese thought of physical appearance in the old age. Great Job, Blake Mayourian.
The background information was new information to me and very enlightening. My family follows most of these New Year customs, including giving out red envelopes. In many parts of New York City, such as Brooklyn, there are many parades and celebrations for Chinese New Year. Last weekend, I spotted a parade right outside my cousin’s house in Brooklyn. Thanks for posting.
As a person who celebrates Chinese New Year in America, I can relate to some of these. However, I could not have family over, nor could I go set off fireworks. Regarding the parade, it looked very fun… I wish I went! Great article.