The Lunar New Year began Jan. 22 and celebrations will last until Feb. 1 as part of the Spring Festival. Following the Spring Festival, the Lantern Festival will take place Feb. 5.
The Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year, Shōgatsu and other names, is one of the most important holidays in the Chinese lunar calendar and is celebrated by people in China, Vietnam and other countries all over the world, according to the Center for International Affairs at Case Western Reserve University. It is celebrated in Mongolia as well, but at a different time because they use a different lunar calendar, according to NPR.
The Lantern Festival, which celebrates family reunions and society, comes a few days after the end of the Spring Festival. The celebration includes moon gazing, riddles and eating rice balls. It takes place on the first full moon of the Lunar New Year and families light their homes with colorful lanterns to celebrate.
President of the Malaysian Student Association Jun You Tan said the Lunar New Year is a time for family.
“Malaysians have like three major races – Malays, Chinese and Indians – but we celebrate the celebrations together as a country,” Tan said. “The New Year for us is just to get together with our family, reunite and just bond together and have a meal together.”
President of the Vietnamese Student Association Isabelle Phan said while specific traditions can differ from family to family, the holiday is meant to be a time to appreciate togetherness.
Phan said the new year is a national holiday and celebrations often fill the streets of Vietnam.
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“It’s a time to take a step back from everything and appreciate what you have and focus on what you want from the new year,” Phan said.
For most celebrating countries, this new year is the Year of the Rabbit, while for the Vietnamese, it is the Year of the Cat.
There are many theories for this, Phan said. One theory is that it simply got lost in translation, as the Chinese word for ‘rabbit’ – mao – is similar to the Vietnamese word for ‘cat’ – meo.
Celebrations of the Lunar New Year on campus are still occurring, and students are able to attend events to celebrate these holidays. A list of campus events can be found here.
