The Lunar New Year is celebrated in a multitude of forms by several East and South East Asian communities around the world and corresponds with the lunar calendar. In China it is also known as the Spring Festival, in Korea this celebration is also called Seollal, in Vietnam it is called Tết or Tết Nguyên Đán and in Mongolia Tsagaan Sar, but to name a few. There are a wide variety of traditions, culinary delicacies and practices around this time of year to be found all over the East and South East Asian diaspora, many of which go back thousands of years.
"To me, the New Year is a chance for friends with shared heritage to get together and celebrate an aspect of ourselves that we normally otherwise give less attention to during the rest of the year."
- Nicole, Canadian-Chinese
"I have one memory: when I was way younger, when firecrackers were still legal in China, I really remember the smell outside on the first day of CNY seeing your relatives and in new clothes. You go outside to visit people and have great food and in the streets you can smell it; that specific sulfid smell that means firecrackers. That is a clear memory of Chinese New Year to me."
- &ASIAN Staff Member, S
"Lunar New Year is a celebration that feels as big and as important as other celebrations in the year like Christmas, especially in the way you go and visit family and friends, and spend time exchanging food and goodwill. Even though it is a massive time of the year commercially for countries and communities that celebrate it (just like Christmas or Easter!) there is still a really fundamental traditional element that you can always feel very deeply and which does not feel lost, even with all the coupons and offers that pop up this time of year!"
- Celia, student, she/her, British-Asian
"Food! The New Year is all about food and big meals and the chance to share it with a lot of people. I cannot imagine New Year without all the meals you have and food you exchange throughout the entire week."
- Anna, retiree
Happy New Year wherever you are in the world from &ASIAN!
