Lunar New Year
Brought to you by Creative Healing for Youth in Pain
What is Lunar New Year?
The Year of the Water Rabbit began on January 22, 2023.
Lunar New Year takes place over 15 days, as well as a few days leading up to the New Year.
Lunar New Year highlights good fortune and prosperity, fertility, good health, and longevity.
Lunar New Year, otherwise known as the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year, has many traditions. During this period, honoring ancestors, and having quality time with family and friends is customary -- all lovely things to value and give time to. Regardless of whether or not you already celebrate Lunar New Year, we can all learn from the tradition.
Who Celebrates Lunar New Year?
Lunar New Year is celebrated in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Tibet, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Places with large Asian populations in the United States also have Lunar New Year Celebrations.
Every country and family honors Lunar New Year in unique ways. The diversity of these celebrations is what makes this holiday so special, and a wonderful opportunity to learn about the many varied cultures that celebrate Lunar New Year.
If you aren’t a part of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) population, you can make the choice to learn more about this important time as a way of understanding friends and neighbors a little better. Racism and bigotry towards the AAPI communities has always been present in our country, and sadly it has been especially overt in recent years.
Lunar New Year is a valuable time to learn from the past year and welcome the next. Those of us outside the Asian diaspora can take this time to learn from our past and welcome the opportunity to respect different cultures and celebrate what unites us all now and in the coming year.
Were you Born in The Year of the Rabbit?
If so, it’s considered good luck to wear a little bit of red every day this year. When it was my year, The Year of the Monkey, I bought myself a little garnet ring to wear for the year. I often will buy my friends and family a little red bracelet to wear when it’s their year.
Each year of the Chinese zodiac has an animal as the symbol for the year. The 12 Chinese zodiac animals are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. There is also an element attached to each animal: Fire, Earth, Metal, Wood, and Water.
A fun way to begin your understanding of this holiday and tradition is to find out which animal and element you are and the qualities of that symbol. Here is a link to discover your symbol: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/zodiac/
However you celebrate this holiday, I hope it is a joyous and enlightening time of year for you!