Before I could even remember, my family celebrated the Lunar New Year. Every year my family would clean the house, light incense, and have fresh flowers, food and desserts, ready to put on the altars. This was done to honor my ancestry and the Gods. We would go to the temple on New Year's day and wear traditional Vietnamese dresses called, “ao dai”. There would be a lot of food and decorations that are sold. There would be festive shows at temples, like Lion dancing, firecrackers, and music playing. There would be a lot of photo opportunities at the temples, like there would be set up around the temple.

The time for the Lunar New Year celebration changes each year depending on the moon. About 3,000 years ago when the Chinese started this festival, they used the Lunisolar Calendar. This calendar was based on the sun and moon, which is where the name comes from. The New Year was after the second new moon which was following another event, the winter solstice. 

Lunar New Year is a festival that is celebrated in many Asian countries. Some of these countries would be China, Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, and much more. The Lunar New Year festival is also known as the Spring Festival . Lunar New Year symbolizes having a hopeful transition from winter to spring. 

A common story about this festival is that it started because there was a Nian (a large Chinese mythology creature) that would come to villages and towns to kidnap and attack people. To prevent the Nian from attacking, people used firecrackers, loud noise, and the color red to scare it away. 

         Before the Lunar New Year celebration starts, it is a tradition to clean one’s home. Having a clean house would bring good fortune and luck for the new year. This tradition represents getting rid of the previous year’s unpleasant and bad luck and creating a more inviting home for the upcoming year ahead. 

Another tradition is to send the Kitchen God to heaven. It is believed that each year around Lunar New Year, the Kitchen God would give a report to the Jade Emperor (the ruler of the heavens) of how the family has been for the past year. There would be pastries, candies, and wine offered to the Kitchen God to honor it and so the Kitchen God will say good things about the family to the Emperor. Incense sticks are lighted, sending the Kitchen God to heaven with the family’s report and returning back to the family on Lunar New Year day. 

The use of red color is abundant during the New Year festival. The color red represents having prosperity, happiness and good fortune. There would be many red decorations inside and outside the house, around towns and villages. Red lanterns are quite popular. Houses being painted red is also common.

         During the Lunar New Year celebrations, there are many traditions being performed. One of these traditions is giving out red envelopes, which contain money (also known as lucky money). The red envelopes are given out to children or younger members of the family by the elders. Upon receiving the red envelopes, the children are blessed with propensity, longevity, and fortune. 

Another festive activity would be lighting the firecrackers. It is long believed that firecrackers' loud noise would chase away the evil spirits in order to prevent bad fortune from staying around the house. The family members get together to honor their ancestors and pray for them to watch over the family. Family members would go to the temples, parades or New Year’s festival, which typically includes the Dragon dance. 

It is a custom to visit family during the festival. It is also customary to pay respect to the elderly first (this is when red envelopes are given out by the elders). A superstition is that on the first day of the Lunar New Year, women should not leave the home to visit others. It is believed luck can leave with them. When visiting friends, food that shows and brings fortune must be served.

Lunar New Year is a celebration where everyone goes out to celebrate and most importantly, spend time with family members and friends. It is a week-long celebration. Even though the day of the celebration of the Lunar New Year is changed every year due to the cycle of the moon’s lunation, it does not affect how the festival is celebrated. The traditions are always carried out the same way as many thousand years ago. That is why the Lunar New Year is always special for me.