Chinese New Year marks the beginning of a new year in the Chinese calendar. It is also termed as “Lunar New Year”, “Chinese New Year Festival”, and “Spring Festival”. Generally, the Chinese New Year falls on different dates every year in the Gregorian calendar. It is calculated based on the first new moon day that falls between 21th of January and 20th of February. Chinese New Year celebrations starting from the New Year eve and ends with the Lantern festival that is held on the 15th day of the year. Chinese New Year is observed as a public holiday in china and in several countries with sizable Chinese and Korean population. It is the longest holidays in china. The holidays mark the end of the winter’s coldest days and people welcome the spring, praying to Gods for the upcoming planting and harvest season. Different regional customs and traditions accompany the festival. Eating dumplings, Yule Log cake, tang yuan or ‘soup balls’, and red envelopes with ‘lucky’ money are part of customary celebration. According to some Myth, the Chinese New Year festival celebrates the death of a monster called Nian, which was killed by a brave boy with fire crackers on the New Year’s Eve. And that’s why firecrackers is considered the crucial part of the Spring Festival as it is believed to scare off monsters and bad luck
My favorite memory has to be when my dad brought me to Chinatown during the Lunar New Year. We walked around, ate some moon cakes and dumplings. But the highlight of the day was watching the dragon dancers in their color costumes, jumping and moving like it's alive. The dragon is considered an auspicious figure that symbolizes luck, power, and control over water. The dance is believed to scare off evil forces, signal rain, prosperity, and good luck. It was so colorful and lovely and would make u believe wishes do come true.
My grandmother is half Filipino and half Chinese. Every Lunar New Year, we make it a point to wear the color red, light up fireworks, and celebrate with the entire family. What excites me the most are the dragon dancers, with the loud sounds and the synchronization of the two performers, it always amazes me. My elders taught me how to create lanterns, and I remember my mom and I, making a lantern and entering a contest where the best lantern would win the largest red envelope prize. Now that I am grown up, while the culture and celebration aren’t as visible as they used to be, our family ensures we have a simple celebration every year.
One of my cherished memories of Lunar new year, is from many years ago when my eldest uncle hosted the celebration at his home. We have a big family and he wanted all of us to be there to celebrate together. He prepared an extravagant feast, as cooking was one of his passions. As kids, we were thrilled to receive red envelopes and greet the elders with "Gong Xi Fa Cai" to wish them a happy Lunar New Year. Sadly my eldest uncle passed away last week 😔. Making this memory and festivity very dear to my heart.
My favorite Lunar New Years memory will probably be this upcoming one. Quite possibly my favorite one yet. And that’s coz 🥁🥁🥁 my parents finally retired and are on vacation overseas! No more 80 hour work weeks working in the Chinese restaurant they owned. It’ll be my first Lunar New Years not celebrating with them but I’m glad they’re enjoying themselves and are finally able to relax. ❤️ I originally wrote a lengthy piece of writing for this forum but I realized after I finished that the drawing is random oops 💀
One ofmy best memories during LNY is visiting chinatown to watch and celebrate the occasion. Ton and tons of people are there with a festive atmosphere. People dancing on the street performing a dragon dance, and at night tons of colorful ans loud fireworks and trinkets.
For me the most memorable experience when Lunar New Year comes is the events that I go to specially to the China town where I can watch dragon dance and enjoy different kinds of food. I also enjoy reading the fortune predictions about my animal. This coming Lunar New Year its the same date as my birthday so im hoping that lots of Good Fortune will come to me. 🫶
Where I come from, we do not celebrate Lunar New Year, and I did not know much about it until 2015, when I studied in China. Even though I had to leave before the actual celebration, the preparations itself left a great impression on me. I lived in a dorm near a stadium, and every morning at 6 a.m., I would wake up to the sound of drums and music from the parade rehearsals. At first, I was annoyed—why do I have to be woken up that early? But some time later, I started looking forward to it every morning to witness that moment. I was amazed by the performers: how in sync, how organized! The city, which seemed so cold before, became alive. People were cleaning streets, decorating shops. Maybe that was just my imagination, but people did seem more cheerful and excited. I did not get to stay for the actual celebration; however, a friend I made there invited me out to have a small celebration together before I left. She took me to a tiny hot pot restaurant, where we shared a pot of curry and goat soup. She added ingredients to her own taste since I had no experience with Chinese dish. We also had chili chicken bao buns, my favorite of that time. I actually miss those to this day; we do not have anything similar to that meal here. Afterwards, we walked through the streets of Nanjing. Of course I could not resist trying random desserts (especially ice cream). Before I had thought that I would leave with a sad feeling because I had no chance of experiencing a festival. Instead, I felt warm and welcomed in a foreign country thanks to that friend, whom I am very grateful to.
My fav memory of Lunar New Year are the Fireworks and the traditional dances. It bring out the fun, joy, luck and happiness to the new year🥰
My favourite Lunar New Year memory was when my grandmother was still alive. She gave birth to 15 children and so during Chinese new year EVERYONE would gather at her place and it was such a huge crowd, I have nephews older than me and uncles younger than me 😂 It was so much fun, lots of gambling, snacking and laughter.
I always look forward for the colorful fireworks during this celebration. But the highlight for me is eating "Tikoy" as we call it in the Philippines. I hope this year will be filled with prosperity and harmony for everyone ✨️
The festive atmosphere and warm delicious dishes will always be a great memory for me during CNY celebration. Gong Xi Fa Cai to all 🥰
One of my best CNY memories would be having the reunion dinner with the whole family. It was always a special time where we could all come together and enjoy a warm, hearty meal. We’d gather at my grandparents’ place earlier in the day to help prepare the food, and I always found that part so rewarding. It was nice catching up with everyone, especially relatives we don’t see often. It made me really happy to reconnect with distant family members. Of course, there were some less enjoyable moments too, like when our aunts would start asking all kinds of personal questions, but overall, it was a time full of love and togetherness. After dinner, we’d also have fun with firecrackers and lanterns, staying up late into the night. One of my favorite traditions was writing our wishes on the Kǒngmíng lanterns. We’d release them into the sky, and the higher the lantern flew, the more it was believed that our wishes would come true.
The busy streets during the traditional dragon dance and the fireworks together with family gatherings. Dang, I miss being a kid. Have a prosperous CNY y'all
One thing I've learned about Lunar New Year is the importance of family reunions and honouring ancestors. The holiday is a time for families to come together, often with a big feast, to celebrate the past year and wish for good luck in the year ahead. A special tradition is the giving of red envelopes filled with money, symbolising good wishes and prosperity for the future.
Our family doesn't celebrate Lunar New Year, but I have a fond memory from when I was young we had a Chinese neighbor who invited us over for dinner during the celebration. It was such a warm experience, and my brother and I even received ampao (red envelopes) from them. It’s a memory I’ll always treasure!
Just wanted to let you know this won't count as an entry! Hope you learn something about Lunar New Year and post about it here though.