2022 Lunar New Year : Year of The Tiger 🎉🧧
Lunar New Year 2022
This year, Lunar New Year falls on February 1, 2022, beginning the Year of the Tiger.
Lunar New Year, Chinese Chunjie, Vietnamese Tet, Korean Solnal, Tibetan Losar, also called Spring Festival, the festival is typically celebrated in China and other Asian countries that begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends on the first full moon of the lunar calendar, 15 days later.
The lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, so the dates of the holiday vary slightly from year to year, beginning sometime between January 21 and February 20 according to Western calendars.
Approximately 10 days before the beginning of the new lunar year, houses are thoroughly cleaned to remove any bad luck that might be lingering inside, a custom called “sweeping of the grounds.”Traditionally, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day are reserved for family celebrations, including religious ceremonies honoring ancestors.
Also on New Year’s day, family members receive red envelopes (lai see) containing small amounts of money.
Dances and fireworks are prevalent throughout the holidays, culminating in the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated on the last day of the New Year’s celebrations. On this night colorful lanterns light up the houses, and traditional foods such as yuan xiao (sticky rice balls that symbolize family unity), fagao (prosperity cake), and yusheng (raw fish and vegetable salad) are served.
Reference: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lunar-New-Year
What is a Lunar Calendar?
Lunar New Year is the beginning of a calendar year whose months are moon cycles, based on the lunar calendar. The lunar calendar follows the monthly cycles of the phases of the moon. It’s one of the oldest calendars in the world that creates lunar months, also known as synodic months. Ancient civilizations used the phases of the moon to help identify the seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter). Since each season has three full moons, this guided them in knowing when to schedule vital activities like harvesting and hunting. Today, the moon calendar is used for ritual purposes, as opposed to official business. Easter, Ramadan, Rosh Hashanah, and the Chinese New Year are just a handful of holidays that rely on the lunar calendar.
What are the Zodiac signs? What does it mean that this is the year of the tiger?
There are 12 zodiac signs and the order goes like this: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Each animal has its own unique characteristics. 2022 is a year of the Tiger, starting from February 1st, 2022, and ending on January 21st, 2023. It is a Water Tiger year.
The Tiger is known as the king of all beasts in China. The zodiac sign Tiger is a symbol of strength, exorcising evils, and braveness. Many Chinese kids wear hats or shoes with a tiger image for good luck.
Reference: https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/tiger.htm
Lunar New Year Traditions? What do they represent?
1. Putting Up Decorations
People give their houses a thorough cleaning before the Spring Festival, which symbolizes sweeping away the bad luck of the preceding year and making their homes ready to receive good luck.
Red is the main color for the festival, as red is believed to be an auspicious color for the Lunar New Year, denoting prosperity and energy — which ward off evil spirits and negativity. Red lanterns hang in streets; red couplets and New Year pictures are pasted on doors.
2. Offering Sacrifice to Ancestors
Honoring the dead is a Lunar New Year’s tradition that’s kept to the word. Many Chinese people visit ancestors' graves on the day before the Lunar New Year's day, offer sacrifices to ancestors before the reunion dinner (to show that they are letting their ancestors "eat" first), and add an extra glass and place it at the dinner table on New Year’s eve.
3. Eating Reunion Dinner with Family on New Year’s Eve
Lunar New Year is a time for families to be together. Lunar New Year's Eve is the most important time. Wherever they are, people are expected to be home to celebrate the festival with their families. The Lunar New Year's Eve dinner is called 'reunion dinner'. Big families of several generations sit around round tables and enjoy the food and time together.
4. Giving Red Envelopes and Other Gifts
The most common gifts are red envelopes (or red packets, lìshì or lai see in Cantonese). Red envelopes have money in and are often given to children and (retired) seniors.
The red envelope (money) is called ya sui qian (压岁钱 /yaa sway chyen/), which means 'suppressing Sui [the demon]money'. Those who receive a red envelope are wished another safe and peaceful year.
The amount of money ranges from a couple of dollars to several hundred. Chinese superstitions favor amounts that begin with even numbers, such as 8 (a homophone for "wealth"), and 6 (a homophone for "smooth"), except for the number 4 as it rhymes with the word that means "death".
5. Firecrackers and Fireworks
From public displays in major cities to millions of private celebrations in Asia rural areas, setting off firecrackers and fireworks is an indispensable festive activity. It is a way to scare away the evil and welcome the new year's arrival. Billions of fireworks go up in Asia at 12 am and in the first minutes of Lunar New Year, the most anywhere at any time of year.
6. Watching Lion and Dragon Dances
Lion dances and dragon dances are widely seen in China and Chinatowns in many Western countries during the Lunar New Year period. They are performed to bring prosperity and good luck for the upcoming year or event.
reference: https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/special-report/chinese-new-year/#tradition
Who celebrates Lunar New Year and how is it different from Chinese New Year?
The Lunar New Year is celebrated in most East Asian countries that begin with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and end on the first full moon of the lunar calendar.
There is some controversy on whether “Chinese New Year” or “Lunar New Year” is the correct term to use since not only Chinese people celebrate the festival. At the same time, other cultures celebrate the New Year at different times and in different celebrations.
Lunar New Year Food Dishes? What do they represent?
Dumplings - Dumplings are shaped like the ancient Chinese gold currency, called ingot, and represent wealth.
2. Longevity Noodles - the longer the noodles, the longer the life of the person who consumes them, legend has it.
3. Oranges - Originally a Chinese Cantonese tradition, this is another instance of a homonym associated with luck: The word for tangerine is 橙 (chéng /chnng/), which sounds the same as a word that means good fortune. "They're served at the end of the meal, and also exchanged when you go visit relatives."
How are GumGumer’s celebrating?
Sophia Tran - So excited and already planning a family gathering and hired two lion dancers! My oldest son turns 24 and he's a lion so it's going to be his year! We also love passing out red envelopes with good luck money to all the kids and will be doing this for my youngest preschool class too to teach them about our traditions. My son and his girl last lunar new year
Reena Rai - Growing up in the Bay Area we always celebrated Lunar New Year at school & at work - here are some fun pics from 2014! I have always enjoyed being a part of this eventful celebration
Christine Lew - My traditions are having a meal with my family and making dumplings in the shape of gold boats (symbolizes wealth), eating noodles (long life), getting oranges (good luck), and red pockets. I also try to get my hair cut and house clean before the new year (good fortune not to be swept away or cut away).
Kevin Nguyen - We’ll be welcoming the Spring with our traditional dishes and exchanging beautiful red envelopes with our friends and family to symbolize good wishes and luck for the new year ahead.
Xiǎobīn Ran - Apart from dumplings, my family would sit together eating sausages and smoked meat and watching new year’s gala
Ginger McMorran - I'm finally getting around to finishing up the decorations for LNY & wanted to share here the final! And tbh, quite proud of how it turned out. There's definitely a lot of day-of traditions to take place but this really got me amped. Also, I'm making sure I deep-clean the house before the Eve to welcome in that good luck!
Check out Ginger in action, as she decorates for Lunar New Year!
Celebrate Lunar New Year with GumGum by using this Zoom Background on Lunar New Year!
Special thanks to Kevin Nguyen and Christine Lew for sharing all about Lunar New Year and to all of the GumGummers who shared how they celebrate Lunar New Year!
Happy Lunar New Year!