On February 10, 2024, RCMS will celebrate the Lunar New Year with Chinese traditions, like dragon dances and shared meals. The event showcased cultural unity, emphasizing the institution’s commitment to global diversity and joy.
The day before Lunar New Year, New Years eve, people have big feasts with their family and spend the day cleaning their house. When people wake up to New Years, they put on New clothing, say “Happy New Year” to each other, and wish their family and friends.
“The Chinese also send out red envelope money with their phone too,” said Ms. Yuqing Yao, Chinese language teacher.
Red envelopes are known as 压岁钱 (yā suì qián) which means money to anchor the year(s). These envelopes are usually given to children from elders to pass on good fortune. On Lunar New Year, families and friends get together and spend time with each other and gather to give red envelopes as they say “happy New Year.”
“We would play games together and sometimes win prizes,” said Anna Park, 12, of the Majestics team.
Lunar New Year originated in China but is now a very important holiday throughout Asia such as Vietnam and South Korea. Lunar New Year, which is also known as Chinese New Year and the Spring Festival, is a holiday that is a time of change and new beginnings.
According to the 2024 Gregorian calendar, Lunar New Years starts on Feb. 10 and lasts for 16 days. Most people wear new clothes to celebrate Lunar New Year but this tradition is lost in younger generations. The Chinese believe that wearing new clothing can protect you from evil spirits.
One of the myths about Lunar New Year was how the holiday was created. Lunar New Year was created by scaring away the mythical beast, Nian, which was afraid of loud noises, fireworks, and the color red. People did these things to stop Nian, the mythical beast, from causing destruction and eating livestock and crops.
“I will avoid using unlucky words, such as “death” which brings death and no odd amounts of lucky money in red envelopes and try not to break anything,” said Ms. Yao.
Many families have a big New Years dinner with a large amount of food, and some of them have symbolic meanings. One of the most famous dishes it dumplings, which symbolizes wealth and prosperity
“My favorite food is rice cake soup, which brings good luck,” said Anna.
These festive Foods play a significant role in Lunar New Year celebrations, bringing family and friends together to share in this joyous occasion.
“When I was a child, my grandma made a lot of fried rice cakes (Chǎomǐ bǐng) and kept them in a huge container for the Chinese New Year. It was delicious fried rice cakes. I kept eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner until it was gone,” said Ms. Yao
