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The Lunar New Year stands as one of the most significant celebrations across East and Southeast Asian cultures, embracing communities such as Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean, among others. This festivity, observed over several days in the lunar calendar, holds immense cultural importance.
In the year 2025, the Lunar New Year commences on January 29th. Join us in exploring the richness and uniqueness of this special celebration that unites diverse communities in joyous festivities!
Are you ready to immerse yourself in the rich flavors and excitement of Tết, the Vietnamese New Year? If so, you're in for a treat with 'This is Tết,' a captivating rhyming picture book that beautifully captures the spirit of Tết activities and customs!
Join us as we celebrate the Vietnamese New Year through the curious eyes of a city kid exploring Tết with her family in a northern Vietnamese village. This heartwarming story is inspired by the author, Tam Bui's, own family members, and brought to life by the illustrator, Mai Ngo, drawing upon her childhood memories in Cổ Bản Village.
Ebook "This is Tết!" watch directly
Read Aloud "This is Tết!"
Asians worldwide celebrate Lunar New Year with a myriad of traditions and festivities that reflect cultural diversity and historical significance. From East Asia to Southeast Asia and beyond, the Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival or Tet, holds immense cultural importance. Here's a glimpse into how Asians around the world celebrate this auspicious occasion:
Family Reunions: The Lunar New Year is a time for families to come together, often traveling long distances to reunite and celebrate. Family dinners and gatherings are central to the festivities.
Feast of Special Foods: Traditional dishes are prepared with symbolic meanings, such as dumplings in China for wealth and prosperity, or Tteokguk in Korea, a soup symbolizing aging one year older.
Lion and Dragon Dances: Street parades featuring vibrant lion and dragon dances are common in many Asian communities. These performances are believed to bring good luck and chase away evil spirits.
Red Decorations: The color red is considered auspicious, symbolizing good fortune and prosperity. Homes and streets are adorned with red lanterns, banners, and decorations.
Fireworks and Firecrackers: Many Lunar New Year celebrations include spectacular firework displays and the traditional use of firecrackers, believed to scare away evil spirits.
Giving and Receiving Red Envelopes (Ang Pao, Hong Bao): Elders give red envelopes containing money to younger family members and friends as a gesture of good luck and blessings for the upcoming year.
Cleaning and Decorating Homes: Preceding the New Year, families thoroughly clean their homes to sweep away bad luck and make way for good fortune. Decorations such as couplets and banners are also put up.
Traditional Clothing: Many people choose to wear traditional attire during the Lunar New Year. In China, this may include the elegant qipao or the more casual changshan.
Temple Visits and Ancestral Worship: Visiting temples to pray for good fortune and paying respects to ancestors are common practices during the Lunar New Year.
Parades and Festivals: Major cities with Asian communities often host vibrant parades and cultural festivals featuring traditional performances, music, and art.
These celebrations, though diverse in their customs, share a common thread of bringing communities together to welcome the new year with hope, joy, and a sense of renewal.
