Lunar New Year is on Feb. 10, 2024 and marks the arrival of spring and the beginning of the new year based on the lunisolar calendar. Students are excited to spend the holiday with family and friends, and Aliso Niguel High School is even serving special food for the week of the holiday to honor the day.
Lunar New Year is the most important holiday in China, and it is also widely celebrated in South Korea, Vietnam and other countries with a significant Chinese population. While the official dates encompassing the holiday vary by culture, those celebrating consider it the time of the year to reunite with loved ones.
Commonly known as the Spring Festival in China, Lunar New Year is a 15 day celebration marked by many traditions such as decorating windows with red paper cuttings and cleaning the house. The Lunar New Year’s Eve reunion dinner is the highlight that kicks off the holiday, a feast with a spread of symbolic dishes, such as a whole fish representing abundance and dumplings that represent prosperity, all of which bring good luck and fortune.
Elaina Liu (11) says, “For me, Lunar New Year means getting together with family and bonding. We make dumplings together and eat as a whole family, and usually in China we would set off fireworks and hand each other red envelopes with money, which is really nice. The money must be clean and crisp bills and the amount given depends on how close you are to that person.”
Dumplings are eaten during Chinese New Year because the dumplings themselves look like money pouches and represent fortune and prosperity in the coming year.
Red envelopes are small red and gold packets containing money given to children, family members and friends as a symbol of good luck. The color red is associated with happiness and good luck.
Elaina Liu (11) adds, “There’s one tale where villagers would scare off this demon with firecrackers and red and good luck, which I believe is the origin of the story.”
One legend of the origins of the holiday is that thousands of years ago a monster named Nian (“Year”) would attack villagers; he was afraid of loud noises, bright lights and the color red, so those things were used to chase the beast away. Therefore, celebrations to usher out the old year include things like fireworks and firecrackers.
ANHS is excited to include special items to celebrate the Lunar New Year including a special pizza all week from Feb 5-9: General Tso’s Asian Chicken Pizza with A Fortune Cookie. The school’s goal is to recognize this important holiday and bring communities together, fostering a sense of unity and solidarity.
Eunnie Wu (12) says, “The holiday to me is similar to Thanksgiving. You come together and eat and because I don’t get to see some friends that live far away, this is a time to come together and catch up with them.”
Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year marks new beginnings for millions of people across the globe. The holiday is about coming together with family and friends and enjoying the most important things in life.
