“Happy new year, may you have fortune and wealth, may all your hopes be fulfilled, and may you be healthy.” These four phrases are the center of any Lunar New Year celebration. Lunar New Year is often celebrated at the end of January or the beginning of February, this year it falls on Wednesday, Jan. 29. The holiday follows the lunar calendar. One lunar month is equal to one full moon cycle, which takes twenty nine days. One lunar year has twelve moon cycles, or twelve lunations. The Chinese zodiac calendar also plays an important role in the Lunar New Year. It consists of a twelve year cycle, one animal for every year. 2025 marks the sixth year in the zodiac calendar, the year of the snake.
Although the Lunar New Year originated from China, over centuries it has spread throughout Asia and the rest of the world. This has sparked many different traditions and values when it comes to Lunar New Year. “Within my own family … (we) had a special dinner. My mom would cook fish, and have some kind of noodles. The noodles were long, thin noodles ... that represented longevity,” Diane Kung, an Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Literature teacher at Berkeley High School, said. For Lunar New Year and holidays alike, food is a way to connect with everyone and cherish traditions. For Kung and others around the world, long noodles have always had a spot at Lunar New Year meals.
A bright red envelope with gold engravings of animals and characters are something else people wait for on Lunar New Year. Children often receive red envelopes on the evening of Lunar New Year from both distant and close relatives. For BHS sophomore Vivien Chiu, red envelopes have always been a part of her Lunar New Year. “We go to a restaurant, then we usually go to Chinatown to buy red envelopes, and I usually pick out the cutest ones. Then me and my dad go to the bank to get the crispiest one and two dollar bills,” Chiu said.
Matthew Laurel, another AAPI Literature teacher at BHS, talked about his recent experiences with Lunar New Year and what it means to him.
Laurel encourages all of the students in his class to celebrate Lunar New Year, regardless of their cultural background. “They don't even have to be Asian," Laurel said, "It’s just about being together and eating good food … food is really good for understanding history and culture and stories from the recipes that get passed down through generations. A lot of these students' parents are immigrants, and the things that they cook remind them of home, and that's a way to reconnect with their ancestral past together."
Often, holidays can be centralized on western history and culture, and celebrations from other parts of the world aren’t highlighted or known about. “I think we're sort of trained to have these main holiday celebrations, like Christmas and Thanksgiving,” Laurel said, “I think just knowing not to always centralize a Western American perspective, and that there are other important holidays that aren't part of the mainstream culture (is important). And this is why I totally embrace and encourage communities and people who don't identify as AAPI to still enjoy and celebrate Lunar New Year.”
Celebrating Lunar New Year consists of different rituals and traditions for a variety of communities. Whether it be celebrated through dinner with family and friends, red envelopes or potlucks, the holiday is a way for people to connect with others and honor the past.