The Lunar New Year is one of the most important holidays in many Asian cultures and it marks the start of the lunar calendar year. This celebration symbolizes fresh beginnings and hopes for prosperity, happiness, and good fortune. Usually, before the holiday begins, families clean their homes to sweep away bad luck. They decorate with red lanterns, couplets, and paper cuttings.

One of the children’s favorite traditions is receiving red envelopes filled with money, wishing them good fortune. Fireworks and lion or dragon dances are common, believed to ward off evil spirits and bring prosperity. As it occurs in many cultures, food is the center of the celebration and each dish carries symbolic meaning. Dumplings represent wealth, fish symbolize abundance, and rice cakes signify progress.

Every year we celebrate this important day with our Asian students; a way to bring them a piece of home far from home.

Happy Lunar New Year!