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12. Lunar New Year (Holiday Series #2)

 

January 15, 2025

 

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Lunar New Year (Holiday Series #2)


Continuing in our holiday series, in this episode, you will learn about the internationally celebrated Lunar New Year. Topics discussed will include how the date is chosen, how it is celebrated across the world, and the mythological origins of the holiday.

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Transcript:

Claire: Hello friends and welcome back to Anthro.mp3! We’re students from UMass who love anthropology. AnthroHub is a website we help run that’s full of all things Anthro. Make sure to check it out to look at some incredible blog posts and creative works made by students from our school and others. My name is Claire, and I’ll be one of your hosts for today’s episode.

 

Emily: And my name is Emily, your other host today. As part of our holiday series, today, we’ll be discussing the internationally celebrated Lunar New Year. On January 29, 2025, the Year Of The Dragon will come to an end, and the Year Of The Snake will commence. 

 

Claire: That’s super exciting. I know I, for one, am looking forward to the celebrations. But before we get into discussions of the holiday traditions, why don’t we first talk about how the exact date of the holiday is calculated? 

 

Emily: Yeah, definitely. I think it’s worth discussing because a lot of people who follow the Gregorian Calendar—that’s like the one we use in our day-to-day lives—the timing might seem kind of random. But the Lunar New Year is based on the lunar calendar, which differs slightly in its operation. 

 

Claire: How exactly is that? 

 

Emily: Well, the Lunar Calendar is based on complete cycles of the moon’s phases, meaning that there are roughly 12.37 months in a given year, rather than 12. This discrepancy means that every so often the days need to be added or like things move around in order to keep the months in line with the seasonal year. This is why the Lunar New Year always falls on a different day. This also technically makes the Chinese calendar a Lunisolar Calendar because it not only takes into account the Lunar Calendar but also the Solar Year. But that’s kind of a mouthful to say, so people just call it the Lunar Calendar. 

 

Claire: Makes sense. So, what exactly determines the date that we celebrate Lunar New Year? 

 

Emily: Yeah, there’s three common ways of determining the day of the Lunar Year. They usually all work, but because the Lunar Year doesn’t match perfectly with the Solar Year, the rules will all fail on certain years. One rule states that the Lunar New Year falls on the second new moon after winter solstice, but that will fail in 2033. In the interest of time, I won’t go into the other two rules, but if you’re interested, I highly recommend you check out the mathematics of the Chinese calendar. I will include the source and the answer on the AnthroHub website. 

 

Claire: Very cool. So now that we know how the date is decided. I think it’d be interesting to go a little bit more into how exactly people tend to celebrate it…New Year. 

 

Emily: Yeah, well, in China—where my family’s from—we call the Lunar New Year 春节(ChunJie), which literally translates to Spring Festival. This is a huge holiday in China, and whenever the holiday arrives, the airports and train stations all get really crowded because everyone’s trying to get home to celebrate with their families. 

 

Claire: That sounds really similar to Christmas here in the US.

 

Emily: Yeah, exactly. It’s like another huge holiday that also happens to fall in the Winter, actually. 

 

Claire: Yeah. 

 

Emily: So, just like Christmas, there are specific 春节(ChunJie) decorations as well as specific foods that families eat. Decorations are typically red because it’s considered an auspicious color, and it also relates to the origin story we’re going to talk about later. Specifically, they hang these things called 春联(chunlian), which are a type of Chinese couplets that go around the door. You might see them, sometimes. They also hang the character of 福(fu), which means good fortune, upside down. This is because when you say the “你的福倒了”(nidefudaole)—which means your good fortune is upside down—it also sounds like your fortune has arrived, right? 

 

Claire: So sort of a play on words to symbolize the good fortune coming. 

 

Emily: Yeah, exactly. 

 

Claire: Very cool. 

 

Emily: Yeah. They love their play on words, as you’ll see later. Just like any holiday, the food is also important part of 春节(ChunJie) as well. This was a little controversy in China, because China sometimes separated between northern China and southern China. And you can kind of see that separation when we talk about food, especially when we talk about food we eat during 春节(ChunJie). If you’re in the north, they tend to eat dumplings during Lunar New Year. This is allegedly because the dumplings look like the ancient Chinese gold and silver ingots. I think they’re called sycee. I’m not super sure. Um, which you know when you eat it, it means that you’re like consuming wealth, I guess…so it’s like a hope that you have more wealth in the coming year. 

 

Claire: Yeah, sort of symbolic of a hope of abundance, and again, the good fortune. 

 

Emily: Yeah, exactly. 

 

Claire: Got it. 

 

Emily: And in the south, they eat​​ nian gao, which is like a sticky rice cake, or like mochi. I’m sure a lot of people will probably know it by that name… 

 

Claire: Yum!

 

Emily: Yeah, exactly. It’s great! I’m from the south, so I think that’s what everyone should eat it. 

 

Claire: Oh absolutely.

 

Emily: They say it’s because nian gao is also a homophone for “you’re high” so by eating it, you’re wishing that your next year will be better than the last. So it’s like wishing for prosperity and stuff like that. 

 

Claire: Very cool. So that’s that’s a lot about how China celebrates it, and it’s all very interesting. And I know that there are a couple other countries that also celebrate the Lunar New Year and there are all those different traditions. So maybe we could talk a little bit about how different countries also celebrate the Lunar New Year? Because most of East Asia celebrates the Lunar New Year, especially considering Chinese influences and occupation in the Sinosphere. And I will say I don’t speak any of the East Asian languages, so I apologize in advance if I mispronounce anything, but I will try my best. So in North and South Korea, the celebration is called “Seolall” and is usually centered around family. Traditionally, people travel to their hometowns, wear Hanboks, and honor their ancestors and elders with a deep bow called “sebae.” With their family and friends, they might also play traditional folk games like “Yut Nori” and fly huge and highly detailed kites, which just sounds so beautiful. Outside of East Asia, the Lunar New Year, also known as Tết in Vietnam, is one of the biggest celebrations. It was believed to be brought over during the Han Dynasty occupation, though some historians may say otherwise. Some original Chinese customs have been retained. However, over time, Tết traditions have evolved to reflect the Vietnamese identity. The most popular way to celebrate is shown by the phrase“ăn Tết,” which literally means “eat Tết.” Families lay out huge feasts on a table days before the actual holiday and offer it to Vietnamese gods such as the Kitchen God. You see, you know, glutinous rice cakes made out of glutinous rice, pork and mung beans, and also candied fruits and seeds, coconut candy, peanut and sesame candy are popular foods amongst Vietnamese people. Also in Southeast Asia is Malaysia. And Malaysia is a multicultural country, with the three major ethnic groups being Malays, Chinese and Indians. Chinese New Year is equally respected as other national holiday holidays, such as Hari Raya Puasa, also known as ayd or Eid, a Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan and Deepavali, a Hindu festival also celebrated by other Indian religions. Like how Lunar New Year is celebrated in other countries, the festivals last for several days. And in Malaysia, Chinese Malaysian families cook a range of meals intended to bring their people good luck. One of the main delicacies—the English translation is a prosperity toss—this Malaysian or Singaporean raw fish salad is often seasoned with hoisin sauce, other condiments and various vegetables. As part of a family tradition the salad is put at the center of the table, and each family member should toss the salad as high as they can, and those who toss it really high can bring in good luck for the next year. 

 

Emily: Yeah, I think it’s super cool. I can see the slight variations and differences in how each country celebrates their lunar new year. We can also see a lot of like similarities, especially in doing various things to, you know, wish or like, bring prosperity or luck to the upcoming year. 

 

Claire: Definitely. And it’s really interesting, because even outside of the East, where there’s all these similarities, you see, you still see a lot, even if we’re looking at more of the Western Hemisphere. For example, the United States houses the largest Asian diaspora in the world, particularly in California. California has the highest number of Asian immigrants, with New York being the second and Lunar New Year is an official Californian state holiday due to the large number of Asians who celebrate the New Year, primarily Chinese, Vietnamese and Koreans. They celebrate around the neighborhoods of Koreatown, Chinatown and little Saigon District, which are all situated in the greater Los Angeles area. The most prominent perhaps, is the Golden Dragon Lunar New Year parade in Los Angeles, which has been happening for 125 years. 

 

Emily: Wow, that’s been happening for a really long time!

 

Claire:  It definitely has, which is, you know, it’s very interesting to see how long it’s been happening, and the roots that we have, especially in immigrant culture, for these holidays that originated more ‘across the pond’ or ‘across the water,’ so far away. And now that we’ve talked a little bit about how the different places across the globe, celebrate, I’d love to hear more about the origin of Lunar New Year…like you were mentioning earlier. 

 

Emily: Yeah, sure. So one story is about the Nian Beast, and explains a lot of the reasons behind these celebrations. But just like most old stories, there’s a lot of variations. You might have heard a different one growing up, but one version goes that there’s this Beast called ‘The Nian’ that would rise up the ocean that’s beginning of every year and devour people, livestock, just like wreaking havoc. 

 

Claire: Right.

 

Emily: One day, an old man showed up to the village and told the villagers he will deal with the beast in exchange for a night’s stay. And thankfully, an older lady agreed. And then as soon as she agreed, the old man started pasting red paper and lighting candles everywhere. And when the Nian appeared, the old man started burning bamboo, and when that burnt, it made this large cracking sound, which also scared the beast away. And then,  this is how the villagers learned that the beast was scared fire, the color red and loud noises, 

 

Claire: very cool. 

 

Emily: Yeah! Also…

 

Claire: And…Oh sorry

 

Emily: It also explains why a lot of Chinese people, and I assume, probably other places will light firecrackers…to scare away the beast. 

 

Claire: That’s what I was gonna say! You know, you hear, you hear that anything firecrackers you think fireworks, and then the color red, like we were talking about, is seen a lot, especially with red envelopes and decoration. 

 

Emily: Yeah. 

 

Claire: Very cool. 

 

Emily: Yeah. And then another story that goes with the New Year has to do with the Chinese Zodiac. The story goes that the Jade Emperor wanted to find a way to tell time, so he declared a race where the first 12 animals to make it across a river would have a spot on the calendar, and the order in which they reached the opposite shore became the order of the zodiac. So, for example, 2024 was The Year Of The Dragon. And when this episode comes out, it’ll be The Year The Snake. So this means that, in the story, the dragon beat the snake. 

 

Claire: Oh, very cool. I was born in 2003, which I believe was the Year Of The Goat.

 

Emily: Yeah.

 

Claire: I think… 

 

Emily: Yeah. And I was the monkey, so…

 

Claire: Oh, very cool.

 

Emily: Which is 2004. And then my sister’s 2005, which is the rooster, I believe. 

 

Claire: Oh, very cool. That’s so interesting. And, you know, speaking of zodiac animals, did you know that Vietnam celebrated the year of the cat in 2023 instead of the rabbit? 

 

Emily: Oh, really?

 

Claire:  Yeah, it’s, it’s unclear when Vietnam switched to using the cat in their Zodiac. But there are several theories on its origin. The first and most highly debated theory is that in old Chinese, there is a character for rabbit that was pronounced like “mao,” however, the Vietnamese people confused it with cat, similar to how cats say meow. You see it sort of Mao to meow. In modern Vietnamese, the word for cat is “mèo.”

 

Emily: Even in Chinese, mǎo (卯). I did know that rabbit was like that. 

 

Claire: Yeah, it was really surprising to me when I found that out. And I just think it’s so interesting. And again, like I said, there are a couple different theories. So the next one is more based on oral history and folk legends. Different families and ethnic groups may have different explanations for the cat zodiac because of their geographical locations or traditions. Compared to China’s savannas, Vietnam’s geography was mainly lowlands. Cats were just more common in Vietnam than in China, plus they were viewed as a more friendly domestic animal and would help to ward off bad spirits. This could also be an explanation as to why the buffalo replaced the ox in the Vietnamese Zodiac. Water buffalos were simply just more common than the ox, and they were very symbolic of Vietnamese culture. 

 

Emily: Makes sense.

 

Claire: Yeah! And another popular theory is one that is based on the origin of the Lunar New Year. In Chinese and Vietnamese folklore, the Buddha, or the Jade Emperor, held a race across a river to determine which animals would be a zodiac and in which order, like you said. And in China, there are two reasons why the cat is not in the zodiac. In one story, the cat really liked to sleep in, which, first of all, relatable, so they asked the rat to wake them up for the race, but the rat never woke up the cat, which caused the cat to miss the race entirely. In the other story, the cat and the rat were riding an ox across the river when the rat pushed the cat into the water, unable to swim, the cat was placed last and totally disqualified. Meanwhile, the rabbit was able to cross the river quite successfully, finishing in fourth. In the Vietnamese version, however, there was no rabbit in the race, and the cat, a powerful swimmer, swam to the finish line after being pushed off, taking the rabbit’s place instead. 

 

Emily: Yeah, wow. That’s so cool to see how folklore can change as it spreads.

 

Claire: Right! Just over time and over space. It can always just tweak a little, especially in the oral histories. And it’s just so interesting to do a deep dive into and to think about how these tales could have originated and how they’ve changed to what we hear today. The final reason as to why the cat is a Zodiac is just based on popular public opinion. Hundreds of cats roam the streets of Vietnam and the locals are exposed to cats much more than rabbits. Cats hold more power than rabbits since the cat resembles a tiger; powerful, yet very graceful. It’s like the dogs versus cats debate, but that’s a conversation for another day. So Emily, before we sort of wrap up here, I would just really love to hear about how you know, how you celebrate Lunar New Year, because personally, I don’t really celebrate it that much. 

 

Emily: Yeah, sure. So, like I said earlier, our family eats nian gao over the 春节(ChunJie) because we’re from the south. Well, really, my mom’s from the south, but she controls the food, so she gets to decide what we eat. There’s also not as much Asians as California, but there’s still, like a decent amount. So, um, restaurants will sometimes have, like, a dinner, like special, where they just cook, like a whole meal, and then my mom tends to buy that instead of laboring for days on end. 

 

Claire: Very cool, yeah.

 

Emily: So that’s cool. And it’s always cool to see, like, how many people celebrate it. Because, you know, they wouldn’t sell it if there wasn’t an audience. 

 

Claire: Definitely. 

 

Emily: Yeah. I also really liked Lunar New Year, because I remember as a kid, there’s this thing in China called Chunwan (春晚). I don’t…I forget how the translation is, but it’s like the Spring Festival Gala. 

 

Claire: Oooo, okay.

 

Emily: It’s like a performance on national television in China, where they have, like, all sorts of performances. Like, they’ll have singers, they’ll have dancers, they’ll have this thing called, like, Chinese cross-talk, I think is what it’s called. So I really liked that as a kid, because it was, like, one of the few times I really got access to mainland Chinese culture. So I really enjoyed that. But unfortunately, when I got older, I wasn’t really able to see it as much because they would always air, like on Lunars New Year’s Day, and those, a lot of times I was in school during that time, so I wasn’t able to watch, yeah, which is unfortunate, because they really should give us a day off. Considering how many people are celebrating it.

 

Claire: Definitely. I, you know, I’ve noticed that we don’t really get any days off for that, which is such a shame considering, you know, days that we do get off throughout the school year.

 

Emily: Yeah. Like, I always remember praying to, like, Good Friday, right? Like, there’s, like, not that many Christians, at least in the northeast, I feel less so, but like, there’s a lot of Asians, and I’m sure other people who celebrate New Year, yeah, so that was interesting. 

 

Claire: Yeah, I’ve…I’ve noticed that we don’t really get any days off for that, which is really such a shame throughout the school year, especially if you’re missing things that you would like to, like to see or like to do. And it’s really interesting, how, how we sort of decide which holidays get time off school, especially considering the large number of immigrant families that have moved into the US, and especially in larger cities like Los Angeles or New York, again, those, those numbers are rising, so it’s interesting to again look at which days we decide to get off for school and work and such. But with that, I do think we’re starting to run out of time, unless you have any other closing statements?

 

Emily: Yeah, especially since we have so many people and families coming in with different cultural practices, which makes up a larger part of our US diaspora, I think we have a lot more to consider as a culture, but we are running out of time. So thank you all for tuning into our show today and another thanks to our team members and our collaborators at AnthroHub, especially our tech crew. To stay connected, you can find us on Instagram @Anthro.mp3. You can also find our sources, transcripts for each episode and more on our AnthroHub show notes. I was one of your hosts today, Emily, joined by our other host Claire and our tech crew. If you enjoy this episode, you’ll love our next one. Keep an eye out on our Instagram for future updates and shows, specials, and events. Catch us next time and have a great day friends!

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