HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

WRITTEN BY Andrea Brazis

GRAPHIC + DESIGN BY Gabrielle Wise

Celebrating the year of the rabbit

The New Year’s just begun, but instead of watching a shiny disco-type ball fall from the New York City flagpole, you’re painting the house red, picking your expired dry-shampoo bottle out of the trash and attempting not to swear at your siblings who woke you up from your morning nap. Despite this, you’re also chowing down on dumplings and receiving money in a little red packet from relatives that you’ve never heard of.

Chinese New Year (also referred to as “Lunar New Year”) is a truly beautiful holiday that celebrates “removing the bad and old and welcoming the new and good.” This holiday is rooted in rich Chinese culture and customs dating back about 3,500 years. Each of the Chinese dynasties offered something unique to the creation of Chinese New Year, creating customs and traditions that could be recognized and celebrated for the years to come.

A popular legend associated with the Chinese New Year is that of a mythical beast called Nian (year). He was said to eat crops, livestock and people on the eve of each new year. In order to prevent him from doing this, people would leave food at their doors. At a later time, a wise man found out that Nian was scared of both the color red and loud noises such as fireworks and firecrackers. People then began to put red lanterns and scrolls around their house; they also used crackling bamboo to scare Nian away. This legend sparked many of the customs that are still practiced today.

Red is the color of the New Year. It’s worn, decorated, discussed — red covers everything. While red is also a primary color associated with both China and its flag, red is more prominent because it “scares off evil spirits.” Additionally, red is the color of luck; since they’re celebrating a new year, they want to begin it with all the elements of “good luck.” Red also symbolizes energy, vitality, good fortune and celebration, among other things.

Throughout the course of the holiday, firecrackers are set off multiple times — including before New Year’s dinner, after the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Day and during the Lantern Festival. The firecrackers set off at midnight are considered the world’s biggest firework presentation in the world, with over 1 billion lighting up the sky. Like the color red, firecrackers are used to “scare away evil spirits” in order to start a more prosperous and safe new year. This festival causes the world’s largest migration annually, bringing hundreds of millions of people from all over China and across continents to celebrate the New Year with their loved ones.

Continue for the DOs and DON’Ts of Chinese New Year

DO clean your house

Cleaning one’s house before the New Year is a way to ensure that all previous bad luck is cleared away to make room for good fortune and luck in the coming year. Emphasis on before the New Year, on the eve of; after the clock strikes midnight, it’s considered very unlucky to clean, as it could “wash away” or “clear away loved ones.”

DO eat lucky foods

The main meal eaten during the festival is the Spring Festival Dinner where the following dishes are served, including dumplings, fish, rice cakes and Mandarin oranges, to name a few. Different countries have different “signature” dishes: sticky rice has appeared popular in multiple countries, specifically Vietnam and Korea.

DO offer sacrifices to your ancestors

Honoring those who have passed is a sacred Chinese tradition; it shows that they’re still with the family and will help them become more prosperous. This is a way for individuals to pay tribute to their family, as family is respected with the highest regard in Chinese culture.

DO share wealth with your loved ones

Sharing monetary gifts tied with messages of encouragement is seen as a way of sharing wealth and bringing blessings of good luck to family and friends alike. These forms of wealth should be packaged in red lai see packets, the color encouraging “good luck.” These red packets can also be gifted from employers to unmarried employees, as a sign of gratitude for their work and devotion.

DO NOT cut or wash your hair

In Chinese culture, the character for “hair” is the same as the first character in “prosper.” Therefore, washing one’s hair during this holiday is seen as “washing away the fortune” and “reducing chances of prosperity.” Similarly, cutting one’s hair is seen as “cutting your life short.” This only applies for the first day of the New Year.

DO NOT cry

Crying is seen as a foreboding of disease and misfortune, so a crying child on Chinese New Year may mean crying throughout the entire year. This day serves as a “free pass” for children, as parents refrain from punishing or disciplining their children during the holiday.

DO NOT swear

It’s believed that whatever you do during Chinese New Year sets the tone for the rest of the year. By swearing during the celebration, this could predict frequent arguments or issues within relationships. Avoiding negative talk of death, poverty or sickness is important to prevent bad luck or misfortune for the coming year.

DO NOT wear black or white

Black and white are colors often associated with tragic events with a negative connotation, such as funerals. Like everything else, this insinuates bad luck for the year; it’s encouraged to wear red instead.

2023 is the year of the rabbit. The rabbit is associated with the Earthly branch, and legends consider the rabbit to be proud and slightly arrogant. An article by Chinese New Year says, “Rabbits are earnest with everything they do; they just ask that others treat them the same way.” It symbolizes mercy, beauty and elegance; it’s also considered the luckiest of the twelve animals.

Chinese New Year’s traditions and customs offer a certain level of skepticism and “good karma, bad karma” philosophy. However, these age-old traditions are rooted in meaningful legends and the core foundations of Chinese values. These practices not only strengthen Chinese culture, but bring families together, creating a strong sense of belonging and familiarity.

Indulging and celebrating cultures outside of your own is a meaningful way to grow socially and emotionally. Even 7,074 miles away, connecting to Chinese traditions, celebrating China’s people and educating oneself on their culture is a beautiful thing. By learning more about those around us and the roots of their history, we can mold a truly beautiful world.

The November 2022 midterm races saw dozens of candidates from marginalized groups break barriers with their election wins. To celebrate recent contributions to Black history, here’s a spotlight on a few leaders who continue to make an impact with their careers. When Black Americans have fought for centuries against disenfranchisement and oppression, these recent victories represent progress towards a future in which all Americans have a voice in our government.

Karen Bass

California - Mayor of Los Angeles

After almost two decades of political service in California, Karen Bass was elected as the first woman and second Black mayor of Los Angeles. She garnered national media attention in 2020 as a potential vice presidential nominee, praised for her leadership and compromise skills. Bass served in the California State Assembly from 2004 to 2010 and as speaker of the Assembly from 2008 to 2010, becoming the first Black woman to lead a state legislature in the U.S. She was recognized with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for her achievements negotiating a California budget during the Great Recession in 2010. Bass went on to represent California’s 37th district in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving for six terms until her mayoral victory. While in Congress, Bass wrote legislation promoting foster youth welfare, criminal justice reform and humanitarian aid to countries in Africa. In her first months as mayor, Bass has focused on initiatives to provide housing and other support resources for homeless individuals in L.A.

Andrea Campbell

Massachusetts - Attorney General

Former Boston City Council President Andrea Campbell is the first Black woman to serve as attorney general of Massachusetts. As a councilor for Boston’s District 4, she proposed an ordinance which would lead to the creation of the city’s Office of Police Accountability in 2020. Campbell was also the first Black woman to preside over the Boston City Council. She holds degrees from Princeton University and UCLA School of Law, and practiced law for an education nonprofit before entering politics. Campbell was endorsed in the race for attorney general by the previous attorney general, Maura Healey, who was elected in 2022 as the first female governor of Massachusetts and one of the first out lesbian governors in U.S. history. Campbell’s priorities as attorney general include housing security and access to education.

Maxwell Alejandro Frost

Florida - U.S. Representative

Elected at age 25 to represent Florida’s 10th district, Maxwell Alejandro Frost is the first member of Generation Z to hold a seat in Congress. Frost became involved in activism and politics at age 15, in response to the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. He served as the first national organizing director for anti-gun violence nonprofit March for Our Lives, which was founded after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Frost’s campaign drew on his multicultural, AfroCuban background with a television ad in Spanish and English, addressing the bilingual voters of his district. His top issues include gun violence, access to healthcare and environmental justice.

Hakeem Jeffries

Seven Black leaders elected to political firsts in 2022