Countdown to Lunar New Year 2025!

🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧🧧

 

Ooo how exciting 👀

I guess I'll start off the fourm posts with a memory regarding Lunar New Years. I had a workplace once with a large amount of Chinese coworkers including on management staff. Due to it being at work the celebration of it was sort of limited but we had a pot-luck style lunch where all of our Chinese coworkers brought in some traditional foods to share with everyone and there was so much excitement for the holiday! Prior to this Lunar New Year was always sort of an offhanded comment from people like "oh that's happening today" so this was really the first celebration of it I was included in and it was really fun to hear about what everyone had planned with their families, how they celebrated at home and that they brought some of that into work to share with us as well. 🥹 There was also a lot of us asking our Chinese coworkers how to say certain phrases in Chinese and a lot of back and fourth in an effort to get the pronunciation right. 🤭

 

I was surprised to learn how every detail, from cleaning the house beforehand to the decorations, was carefully planned to invite luck and ward off misfortune.

 

Learning about my lunar animal and the characteristics we share was fun. It's also interesting how Lunar New Year falls on a different day every year due to moon phases..neat 😀

 

my favorite LNY memory is going to big family events where i would have to say "gong hei faht choi" to every married couple to get that 🧧😂 but i also enjoy eating and bonding with family!

 

Loved learning about my lunar animal in primary school

 

Well when I started learning about the lunar new year I first started with figuring out what animal me and my family were, usually each year I check the animal of the year and how it’ll corilate with my animal and what prosperity it might bring into my life 🫶🏼

 

My favourite experience every lunar new year is EATING. Specifically, the one food ‘jiandui‘ which is essentially a hollow sesame ball. But the only time I’m ever able to get them is during the lunar new year as the Chinese supermarkets near me only stock them seasonally! But if you’ve never tried them I 100% recommend it, they’re sweet and crispy 😼

 

I guess it was fun finding out the origin of the Lunar new year. 🐉🧧🎊 Lunar new year started with the story of Nian 年獸, a mythical beast whose name also means "year." Every new years eve, Nian would attack villages, eating livestock, crops, and sometimes even people. To stay safe, villagers would lock themselves inside or escape to the mountains.

One year, just before Nian showed up, a wise man came to the village. Instead of hiding, he faced the beast and drove it away. He revealed he was a god and taught the villagers that Nian was scared of the color red, loud noises, and fire. From then on, the villagers put up red decorations, set off bamboo to make loud sounds, and lit candles. According to the story, Nian was never seen again.🎍🧧🎊🐉

 

This thread was my first time hearing that lunar new year lasts 15 days, so I decided to look up what each day represents. It looks like they correlate to the creation of animals, humans, and grains. Each day works to be a celebration of these things which is wonderful^^

 

Hmm, I don’t really have a memory of the Lunar new year but when I was younger we had this favorite Chinese restaurant and everytime we went my sister and I were so excited to sit down and look at their placemats. They always put the zodiac animals and which years they were. We would do everyone in our family, even our extended family. We lived in a small town so these little things were fun. Sadly that restaurant has been shut down 😪

 

I remember the day I first learned my Chinese zodiac sign. It was my first time ever celebrating lunar new year with a friend. When I discovered I was an Ox, I felt so disappointed—why couldn’t I be something magnificent, like a Dragon or a Tiger? It just didn’t seem special to me at the time. But my mom saw how upset I was and gently reassured me. She explained the true meaning behind the Ox: its strength, reliability, and quiet determination. She told me how these qualities were admirable and reflected a kind of greatness that wasn’t flashy but deeply respected. Her words made me see the Ox in a new light, and I felt so much better after that. My friends had given me an ox necklace and I still have it to this day!

 

A Goose's Lunar New Year Memory

So there I was, a dashing white-feathered goose, waddling through the park one crisp Lunar New Year evening. The humans were gathered around their festive tables, red decorations everywhere, and I was on my usual mission: sneak snacks.

Now, I didn’t know much about Lunar New Year back then, but I had heard whispers about *niángāo* (sticky rice cake) being the ultimate treat. Determined to taste it, I devised a brilliant plan: pretend to be a part of their dragon dance.

Picture this: a parade of humans, expertly handling a massive, glittering dragon puppet. And me, a lone goose, strutting along at the back, honking enthusiastically in rhythm. To my surprise, it worked. People thought I was an “unexpected addition to the performance,” and some even clapped for me.

But then, disaster struck. Someone set off firecrackers. Now, I’m a bold goose, but the popping and crackling sounds? Terrifying. I honked like my life depended on it, flapped my wings, and accidentally crashed into the dessert table. Sticky rice cake flew everywhere.

While everyone gasped, I saw my chance. I nabbed a chunk of *niángāo* and bolted. To this day, I swear it was worth the chaos.

What did I learn about Lunar New Year? It’s loud, delicious, and humans will forgive almost anything if you’re charismatic enough.

Honk!

 

My First Lunar New Year Dumpling Adventure

So, there I was, attending my very first Lunar New Year celebration at my friend Mei’s house. Everything was red, gold, and vibrant, and everyone kept talking about dumplings. Now, I’d never had a dumpling before. I know, shocking. I thought dumplings were just, like, soggy bread? But Mei insisted, “You *have* to try them.”

I watched as her grandma expertly folded each one, tucking in little secrets like they were treasures. I decided to help. “How hard could it be?” I thought. Fast forward five minutes, and my dumpling looked like it had lost a fight with gravity. Mei’s grandma patted my shoulder and said, “Maybe just eat them.”

When it was time to dig in, Mei gave me a dumpling and said, “Careful, there’s a coin in one of them! It’s for good luck!” Excited, I bit into the dumpling like it owed me money.

Turns out, *that one* had the coin.

I’m sitting there, coughing and wheezing, trying to discreetly eject a metal object from my mouth without looking like a total idiot. Mei’s family noticed immediately, of course. Her little cousin shouted, “Char’s choking on the luck!” and suddenly everyone’s laughing while I’m contemplating my life choices.

Eventually, I survived, and Mei’s grandma handed me a second dumpling with a wink: “No coins in this one.”

What did I learn about Lunar New Year? Dumplings are way better than soggy bread, luck can sometimes try to kill you, and Mei’s family is the best.

I’ve been going back every year since—just with a more cautious chewing strategy.

 

My best friend when I was lil was Chinese so my fave memory was my first time celebrating with her and her fam. Lots of yummy food and $$$ in the red envelopes 😎💖

 

My favourite Lunar New Year (I usually call it Chinese New Year) is the first time I gave out red packets as a newly married couple with my husband! Having been on the receiving end for over 25 years of my life, it became my turn to give out the red packets and that was both bittersweet and exciting.

 

During elementary i studied in a international school which is commonly for Chinese and we celebrate lunar new year there and i also Dance as the Dragon Loong every Lunar New year it was so much fun! Also i love that i get red envelop hihi 😁 from my teacher's and classmates parents.

 

Hmm, I don’t really have a memory of the Lunar New Year except when I was in high-school my friend at the time invited me to join his family to celebrate and we stood on the roof of his house lighting off fireworks all night!