The Lunar New Year is a time when Asians from all over the world come together to celebrate with friends and family. Countries in Asia honor the new year with gifts and praise for the culture between late January and early February. Following the traditional Chinese Zodiac, this year falls on the dog. The significance of the dog is it is known to be loyal and honest. The gathering, which includes many different Asian cultures, can last from a day up to an entire week consisting of a dice game, large amounts of food and more. Within the weeks of the celebratory event, Asians hope to bring fun and laughter into the new year. A few of the traditional festivities at the gatherings include: the young dancing wildly, adults catching up from the year, and the passing around of red envelopes.

     Handing out red envelopes has been a tradition in Asia since the Qin Dynasty. ‘Le xi’ means lucky money in Vietnamese, and the color red symbolizes good luck and happiness for the year. Parents hand out red decorative envelopes with cash for kids and young adults as a gift. The money symbolizes the wealth for the year.

     Women and children are known to wear long traditional dresses or new clothing attire. As well as the traditional clothing, there is a lion dance which is believed to bring prosperity to the people. The longer the dance, the more luck people will receive. When the dancing is in action, the lion makes its way around the room. The guests will then feed the lion money “locking” in the wealth and luck for the year, thus, symbolizing the strength in culture used to scare away the evil spirits.

     After the Lunar New Year, the next national holiday that some people celebrate is The Dragon Boat Festival. The festival lands on June 18th this year, and it includes eating dumplings, drinking realgar wine, and racing dragon boats. Next year’s Chinese Zodiac is the year of the pig, but for 2018 man’s best friend has the spotlight.