Arguably the biggest holiday in the world, Lunar New Year (also known as Chinese New Year, Seollal, or Tết) is a massive global holiday spanning 15 days that you’ve undoubtedly experienced, given that you’ve probably gone through Sentinel’s beautiful, lantern-adorned front doors in the past few weeks. Although the festival originates from ancient China and Chinese culture is still greatly represented in the celebrations, it has since evolved to adapt to various cultures from all over the world.
Lunar New Year began this year on February 10, 2024 (it begins the first new moon and ends on the full moon each year, meaning its date shifts!) and depending on your culture, will end on different days (Chinese? Feb. 24th. South Korean? Feb. 12th!). But how did this holiday first begin?
Chinese New Year can be traced back 3,500 years, all the way to the Shang Dynasty. Legend has it that a mythical beast called “Nian” (年, “year”) often terrorised villagers, eating its fill of livestock, crops, and people every New Year’s Eve. Logically, the consumed humans and their families did not find this arrangement agreeable. To prevent further destruction, they put food at their doors for the beast to consume instead. A wise old man discovered that Nian hated loud noises and the colour red—so people decorated their doorways with red scrolls & lanterns, lighting bamboo & firecrackers to scare it away.
Traditions have evolved greatly since then. Though the traditionally vivid crimson decor is still popular, other customs include house cleaning to get rid of bad luck from the previous year, giving or receiving red envelopes full of money, and watching Lion & Dragon dances. Massive celebratory meals involving dumplings, rice cake soup, and long noodles (up to two feet long!) are also a must.
In South Korea, Seollal began as a special time for honouring one’s ancestors and celebrating bountiful harvests. Spending time with family remains an integral part of the holiday; many people return to their hometowns to visit parents and grandparents. Fortune telling, kite-flying, and watching the first sunrise is also common.
Tết, the Vietnamese name for the holiday, is a festive twelve-day celebration full of kumquats, banh chung (rice cake wrapped in banana leaves), and burning special papers in the family altar as prayers and wishes are recited in honour of old ancestors. Folk tales say each household is watched over by three gods, the Kitchen God returning to the heavens in the form of a carp on the 23rd of the last Lunar month. As Lunar New Year nears, the entire family will clean the kitchen, preparing for the Kitchen God’s return and releasing goldfish into rivers, lakes, and ponds as offerings.
The final major event celebrated is the Lantern Festival, where beautiful lanterns are carried in a nighttime parade or hung up in temples. A symbol of reunion, families come together to stroll around, celebrate, and play games. Some say it is the true Chinese Valentine’s Day for its intimacy.
But if you’re interested in a more local event, Sentinel will also be hosting its own Lunar New Year Festival! Though at the time of publishing, the date has not yet been confirmed, expect performances ranging from singing to acting to dancing—in particular, I would keep my eye out for some bewitching K-POP dance covers from the Sentinel K-POP Dance Club! Admission is $15. If interested, please reach out to the Chinese Culture Club (@chinesecultureclub_sentinel on Instagram)!
