For many Asian Americans, the Chinese or Lunar New Year is about celebrating with family, reconnecting with friends, cooking and eating traditional dishes, lighting fireworks, and gifting red envelopes. This celebration of heritage brings together communities to honor traditions, and signifies new beginnings and good fortune. The Lunar New Year is associated with a specific animal from the Chinese zodiac, which rotates on a 12-year cycle, with 2024 celebrating the Year of the Dragon.

Some of our colleagues share their perspectives and family traditions about what the Lunar New Year means to them, how they celebrate today in the United States, and how the Lunar New Year is celebrated in their hometown.

 

Qian Xiang
Research Associate I
Molecular Cardiology Research

We celebrate the Lunar New Year like a combination of Thanksgiving and Christmas. New clothes are given as gifts, money in red envelopes, many special dishes for this occasion, and fireworks. The adults, including my parents, would be in a good mood during the Spring Festival. I remember a few occasions where they let me get away when I was not on my best behavior. In China, we would visit my grandparents with gifts and give them our best blessings. We sat around a big table and enjoyed more than 20 dishes. In my hometown, two dishes must be prepared; one is mixed vegetables in different colors, symbolizing the colorful life. The other dish is made with various fish for our many blessings in the coming year. Fish is pronounced the same as “left” in Chinese. The fish dish is reserved until the 5th day of the Spring Festival, which marks the end. This is the Year of the Dragon, and many celebrations will take place in Chinatown. I will go to a few of them. But we will also celebrate at my home with close friends.

 

Qi Liu
Assistant Research Investigator
Molecular Cardiology Research

During my childhood, Chinese New Year was the most cherished holiday. It meant a break from school, the joy of wearing new clothes, receiving red pockets from relatives, and indulging in expensive foods and snacks that were a rare treat on ordinary days.

February 10th marks the Chinese New Year, heralding the Year of the Dragon. This celebration, spanning multiple days, is one of the most memorable holidays in the Chinese calendar. On New Year’s Eve, people take a break from work, and all family members celebrate with a festive feast. On New Year’s Day, younger generations traditionally bow to their elders, extending wishes for a joyful new year. In return, the elders present red envelopes, known as “red pockets” containing cash as a symbol of good fortune and prosperity.

 

Rich Gang Li, PhD
Post-Doctoral Research Associate
Gene Editing Laboratory

Lunar New Year means getting the family together to cook and eat. In addition to family, friends are almost always invited to celebrate, which is always fun and creates fond memories. Our family tradition is to prepare a menu with 15 to 20 special dishes. Each person has their tasks (to cook entire dishes or to help). Some unique dishes include Tangyuan (glutinous rice balls with sweet filings), dumplings, rice cakes, lobster, egg rolls, etc. We invite friends in Houston every year to eat and play board games.

 

Huan-Hsing (Hansel) Chiang
Research Assistant I
Molecular Cardiology Research

Growing up in Houston, I celebrated the Lunar New Year at the Taiwanese Community Center, surrounded by many games, food, and laughter. As part of the youth volunteer group, I helped host game booths centered around that year’s animal symbol. The catered food was abundant from local Asian restaurants, and if we were lucky enough, the parents handmade nian gao, a sticky rice cake. Around noon, the children lined up eagerly to say, “Wishing you good wealth and prosperity!” (in Mandarin Chinese or Taiwanese) to receive a red envelope. I’ve been grateful for that celebratory day since it reminded me how important it is to connect with one’s cultural community while living abroad.

 

Jun Wang, PhD
Assistant Director
Cardiomyocyte Renewal Lab

Chinese New Year, now more often referred to as Lunar New Year globally, is the most important festival in China. Family members usually stay together to have a New Year’s Eve dinner. During the New Year period, people go out to visit relatives and friends. Dumplings are indispensable for this celebration in the northern part of China, and rice balls are a must in the southern part of China.

I grew up in a small town in a southern city of China. When I was little, the most exciting thing to do during the Chinese New Year period was to set off firecrackers. I used the lucky money, i.e., New Year’s money, mostly “donated” by my parents and grandparents, to buy a variety of firecrackers. Many friends and I went out to find an open place, usually a playground, and lit firecrackers cheering. I left China about 24 years ago, and thus far, I have not had a chance to visit China during the Chinese New Year period. Therefore, those Chinese New Year events in China were the old times for me; now, they are just memories.

My daughter was born and grew up here. To help her get a sense of Chinese New Year when she was a kid, I usually put several new bills in a red envelope and placed the envelope under the pillow of her bed on New Year’s Eve. She would find out the second day, i.e., New Year’s Day. I told her this was the lucky money the kids usually received in China.