Throughout the next two weeks, over one billion people with southeast Asian roots will gather with their families to celebrate their biggest holiday of the year: the Lunar New Year.

And in 2017, it’s the rooster’s time to shine.

Every year, children receive red, money envelopes, embossed with gold paint, from their parents and married relatives as a gesture for prosperity

Many people also use the time to settle any unfinished business so that the issues will not carry over into the next year.

But for most families, it’s the time to gather around and honor ancestors, hoping that the new year will bring more good health, wealth and success.

Over the next two weeks, hundreds of Sacramento State students will carry on the traditions passed down from their families and celebrate the annual holiday — even when they’ll have to do so miles away from their actual homes.

Iris Alop, a graduate student, said that celebrating the Lunar New Year is important to her because in Vietnamese culture, the day is a reflection on the year to come.

“It’s the biggest holiday we have, so we go all out,” Alop said. “Everything has to be perfect because it does represent what the rest of the year is going to be. So it is filled with lots of treats, beautiful fruits, and it’s just a reflection of what’s coming.”

However, for Sac State student Ashley Nguyen, some specific Lunar New Year traditions — like celebrating for the full two weeks — have fallen into the shadows due to a faster-paced workflow in her life.

“In Sacramento, (celebrating the Lunar New Year) is not typical,” Nguyen said. “In (Vietnam), you actually have days off of work and school — one, or sometimes, two weeks. But here, we can only celebrate for one or two days because we have to go back to work.”

Curtis Dean Smith, the department chair of the Department of World Languages and Literatures, said that even though many rituals and annual practices have remained the same for centuries, plenty have also evolved with time as China, specifically, has transitioned from being an agricultural society to being more of an industrial powerhouse.

“In agriculture time, this is downtime,” Smith said. “This is when the crops are resting and it’s not difficult to take time off. But in the industrial and commercial society, you can’t take that much time off.”

Regardless of whichever way people celebrate it, Smith said that Lunar New Year is “a humanistic celebration of new beginnings” that anybody can enjoy.
How are you celebrating this Lunar New Year? Let us know in the comments.

Laurel Mcnees | The State Hornet