From my family to yours: Lunar New Year is here! Make the most of this year with these luck-inducing traditions:
Out With the Old, in With the New
Also known as the Spring Festival in China, Lunar New Year celebrates the start of spring. A time for renewal, it’s a most joyous time for connecting with our roots and planting new seeds of hope. It is a time to clean and sweep away ill-fortune to make way for good luck. Take a look around your house, your office, your life — make time to do a deep clean. It’s hard work but you’ll feel so refreshed when it’s done. It’s best to clean before the new year and make news year’s day, a day of rest, where you can enjoy your newly cleansed environment.
It’s More than Decoration
Now that you’ve cleaned the clutter and made space for the good, it’s time to put up decorations to welcome luck into your world. With the color red symbolizing good luck, hanging red charms, scrolls, lanterns or displaying red flowers will entice luck into your home or office. Other popular flowers include the orchid that symbolize wealth and fortune, or vibrant yellow chrysanthemums, which symbolize prosperity.
Pray to the God of Wealth
Whether it’s a trip to the temple, burning incense in your home, or having a quiet moment to pray, the God of Money and Wealth is listening this time of year. Known as “Cai Shen” in Chinese, he’s a jolly figure often seen on posters or even as costumed mascots at New Year festivals. In the new year, Cai Shen goes up to the heavens to report on your worthiness. As we pray, sweet treats are presented to Cai Shen in hopes that Cai Shen will sing your sweet praises. With money and wealth being a pretty universal desire, one of the most popular new year greetings is: “Gong Xi Fa Cai,” which means wishing you “joyous wealth.”
It’s Who You Know
As much as the new year is steeped in luck-amplifying tradition, it’s actually about the people. Lunar New Year is the world’s largest annual human migration of people, where people completely disconnect from work for two weeks and instead spend quality time with family and close friends. Take advantage of this time to reunite with those you care about, even those who you haven’t been able to connect with in a while but you know hold important meaning in your life. To keep with tradition, don’t forget to meet over an abundance of great food.
Eat Yourself Lucky
Speaking of food, there are dozens of traditional foods consumed at new year to bring health, luck, and general abundance. Hoping to score big this year monetarily or professionally? Treat yourself to dumplings — which symbolize wealth, as they as they are similar in shape to ancient gold ingots. The concept of dumplings representing wealth resonates so much, that some people commit to eating dumplings every day for the full two weeks Chinese New Year is celebrated.
Ideal New Year Gift
The new year is just as much about giving as receiving. Gifting oranges showers your recipient with luck. It is considered lucky, as it is called “Ju” in Chinese, which sounds like the word lucky in Chinese (Ji). If you find yourself invited to a Chinese New Year celebration at someone’s home and are wondering what to bring, you can’t go wrong with oranges or tangerines.
Don’t Forget the HongBao!
Participate in a special intergenerational connection by bringing red envelopes (called “hong bao” in Chinese) filled with money or another lucky trinket to give to children and unmarried adults. The distribution of these envelopes is reserved only for married adults. Here’s how it plays out: the receiver (child) wishes happy new year and as the elder hands over the red envelope, they offer a set of greetings to bestow wealth, health, and happiness. Receiving hong bao money is certainly a kid’s favorite, but frankly as the giver of hong bao nowadays, I relish the opportunity to give well wishes to the next generation.
You’re Invited!
Immerse yourself in the new year spirit by attending a celebration. Depending on the area you live in, new year festivities this year will begin mid-January and go through early-February. Most advertised local community events are open to all and should include food and a show.
Pro tip: If you catch a lion dance, feed the lion a hong bao with some cash inside for extra luck!
The tips I shared above are some of my favorite prosperity-inducing traditions my Chinese-Vietnamese family does each year. Do other new year traditions come to mind for you? Please share! I’m also curious how other cultures/ethnicities celebrate Lunar New Year. Thank you for reading and hope this post bring you good health and prosperity!
