lunar new year
Why some Asians say ‘Hope you get rich’ instead of ‘Happy new year’
There’s no celebration in the world like Lunar New Year — red envelopes, firecrackers, lion dances and people saying “Gong hei fat choy” in Cantonese or “Gong xi fa cai” in Mandarin to each other.
The only thing is, those phrases don’t mean Happy New Year. It’s wishing you good fortune, wealth and riches. So when did Chinese people and other Asian groups start saying this phrase?
Black Asian USC student faces backlash for advocating ‘Lunar New Year’ over ‘Chinese New Year’
- Kiara Nguyen, a biracial Black and Vietnamese student at the University of Southern California, was accused of attempting “to erase the holiday’s Chinese origins” when she said “Chinese New Year” was incorrect in a post on the school’s Instagram account.
- “I misspoke. What I was trying to explain was that Lunar New Year was an inclusive term. You wouldn’t say ‘Happy Chinese New Year’ to your non-Chinese Asian friends,” Nguyen said. “I want to be clear that if you are speaking to someone who is Chinese, calling it Chinese New Year would be correct.”
- Other people also took offense when Nguyen claimed lì xì, the informal Cantonese name for the red envelopes given during Lunar New Year, was a Vietnamese term.
- The senior USC student double majoring in psychology and NGOs and social change was reportedly subjected to hateful messages and racist remarks in the aftermath. Nguyen also received a threat in her email, saying she is now a “hot target to our whole Chinese group from the whole world.”
- Nguyen also expressed that this would not have been an issue if she was not half Black, saying, “It’s always ‘Black people are playing the victim’ when they talk about injustices. It’s been… frustrating to see people denying the fact that I’m being called slurs and also denying my identity as an Asian woman. As a mixed race person, I’ve had to deal with the invalidation so often — I’m tired at this point.”
A Black Asian student from the University of Southern California found herself in hot water after many Chinese students expressed outrage over her Lunar New Year post on the university’s Instagram story earlier this month.
Kiara Nguyen, a senior USC student double majoring in psychology and NGOs and social change, was tapped by USC Communications to celebrate the beginning of Black History Month and Lunar New Year on Feb. 1 by creating social media posts, Daily Trojan reported, The posts would mark the first time in 19 years that the two occasions started on the same day.
Gov. Hochul announces record $10 million fund for Asian American groups: ‘New York is as strong as the tiger’
- Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a $10 million fund for over 100 Asian American community organizations on Sunday.
- The fund aims to ease the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had on Asian Americans, who have suffered hate and violence amid the pandemic.
- Hochul said the fund sends a strong message that hate has “no home” in New York and that her administration is “laser-focused” in helping forgotten communities.
- The governor broke the news at a Lunar New Year parade in Chinatown, likening the community to the tiger and encouraging them to “roar” and “claw our way back.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has announced a $10 million fund for Asian Americans disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fund, which will be distributed to over 100 groups, is the largest investment the state has ever made for the Asian American community, according to the governor’s office.
Father suffers burns after 5-year-old blows up homework assigned over Lunar New Year with firecrackers
- A boy in China reportedly blew up his Lunar New Year holiday homework using his grandfather’s lighter and cousin’s firecrackers on Feb. 10.
- His father managed to put out the fire before escaping with only minor burns, while the rest of the family managed to flee unharmed.
- The boy’s mother told reporters his school gave him three assignments for the Lunar New Year holiday, and he became unwilling to finish them when he was on his third.
Nobody likes doing holiday homework, but a boy in China took his disgruntledness to a whole new level when he blew up the assignments given to him for Lunar New Year using firecrackers inside his family’s home.
The 5-year-old boy was on his third and last Lunar New Year holiday homework assignment when he suddenly decided to blow it up using his grandfather’s lighter and his cousin’s firecracker on Feb. 10, local Chinese media reported, via AsiaOne.
Celebrate the Year of the Tiger with the DNC featuring BD Wong, Daniel Dae Kim and Lisa Ling
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) AAPI Caucus and NextShark welcome anyone to celebrate the 2022 Lunar New Year with a free virtual stream on Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. EST/4 p.m. PST.
This year’s event, produced by Enfranchisement, will be hosted and co-streamed on the DNC YouTube channel and NextShark’s Facebook page.
Black History Month, Lunar New Year overlap is the perfect time to share our stories and listen to others
Reunion dinners, hot pot, lor hei, visiting Chinatown to watch the dragon dance — these all come to my mind when Lunar New Year rolls around.
We celebrate with food, always, but also with family and taking the opportunity to share our beloved celebrations with our friends across cultures. While the ways we currently celebrate Lunar New Year may be different today when compared to celebrations of the past, the rich cultural storytelling behind it has not been lost.
University of Toronto hands out ‘hell bank notes’ meant for deceased to students on Lunar New Year
- A graduate residence building at the University of Toronto mistakenly offered red envelopes of “hell money” meant for the deceased to its students during Lunar New Year.
- “Giving 冥币 (hell money) to a living person is a horrible act because you are conveying to the person that ‘You are dead to me’ or worse, ‘l wish you are dead,’" an Instagram meme account of the university explained.
- The Graduate House and the Governing Council of the University of Toronto apologized to its students after the “hell money” envelopes prompted online criticism.
A graduate dormitory at the University of Toronto offered red envelopes containing “hell money” meant for the deceased to its students during Lunar New Year.
The residence building placed a bowl of red envelopes on the front desk of the dormitory’s main entrance. But to the surprise of its residents, the pockets contained paper money with the words “Hell Bank Note” printed in English.
South Coast Plaza Unveils Epic Year of the Tiger Display and Lunar New Year Celebrations
South Coast Plaza welcomes all to join in celebrating Lunar New Year with an amazing interactive Year of the Tiger display, cultural exhibits, boutique gifts, and traditional music!
Through Feb. 20, South Coast Plaza is offering a substantial assortment of limited-time prizes, limited-edition gifts, experiences and culinary specialties to kick off the Year of the Tiger:
AABDC to host FREE Year of the Tiger virtual event to support small Asian American businesses
The Asian American Business Development Center (AABDC) and NextShark are partnering once again to present the free Lunar New Year virtual event to celebrate the Year of the Tiger on Feb. 8 at 6:00 p.m. EST.
This year’s free event will be streamed exclusively on NextShark’s Facebook page.
Lunar New Year will be a federal holiday if bill proposed by Rep. Grace Meng passes
- Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) has introduced a new bill that would add Lunar New Year to the list of 11 recognized federal holidays in the United States.
- Meng also introduced another resolution, “Recognizing the cultural and historical significance of Lunar New Year in 2022,” alongside the new bill on Friday.
- “My bill, coupled with my resolution, would demonstrate that the holiday celebrated by millions is also valued by their government,” Meng, a Taiwanese American born in Queens, said.
After helping make Lunar New Year a school holiday in New York, Queens Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) is now pushing to make it a federal holiday through new legislation.
Introduced on Friday, the Lunar New Year Day Act bill, co-sponsored by 44 other individuals, would add Lunar New Year to the list of 11 federally recognized holidays, according to a press release published on Monday.
Lunar New Years past and present: how rice cake soup cured my holiday dread
Heading into the first couple months of the new year, all holiday-induced stress and winter sales jingles begin to wind down. Any empty hype around self-deluding resolutions makes way for the work we decide matters enough to us to actually do it. And the peppermint-infused holiday spirit dissipates into the gray mornings of January. Until the first new moon when local Asian markets suddenly get a bit busier.
Lunar New Years of the past
TikTokers offer dates to singles facing relationship pressure from inquisitive relatives on Lunar New Year
- The Chinese New Year has prompted a TikTok trend wherein some Singaporeans are advertising themselves as dates for rent.
- The trend highlights the pressures many feel from relatives’ questions about their relationship status during Lunar New Year family celebrations.
The Chinese New Year has prompted a new TikTok trend in which users advertise themselves as dates for people who wish to avoid relationship status questions from their relatives.
Twenty-one-year-old Singporean TikToker Wayne Chia modeled a velvet suit on the platform to advertise himself for rent at S$50 (approximately USD $37) a day, reported The New Paper.
