AS FAMILIES ACROSS China and around the globe got here collectively to welcome the Lunar New Yr with fireworks, conventional dances, lavish feasts, practices like feng shui, and extra, communities throughout the Bay Space additionally joined in, celebrating the necessary cultural vacation in varied methods.
In Harmony, town’s library hosted its annual Lunar New Yr celebration with lots of of households in attendance. Performances, together with a conventional lion dance, entertained all ages throughout this yr’s occasion in late January.
Youngsters’s librarian and occasion organizer Rosa Lassalle stated holding numerous programming is a key focus of the library.
Milan Barney is a senior at Pittsburg Excessive Faculty and a member of Contra Costa Youth Journalism. (CCYJ through Bay Metropolis Information)
“We are trying to do a monthly program to again highlight the multicultural part of every community,” Lassalle stated. “This month, the Lunar New Year was in January, so we celebrated. This is actually the biggest event we have.”
As in all years, the annual vacation — often known as Chinese language New Yr — marks the primary new moon of the lunisolar calendar, which was Jan. 29 this yr. It’s adopted by a 15-day competition; the primary 11 days being the Spring Competition, adopted by the Lantern Competition for 4 days.
Celebrations started in historical China and yearly is represented by an animal zodiac signal (12 in whole), 2025 being the Yr of the (Wooden) Snake.
“Thought to have originated in ancient China around 3,500 years ago, it is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture, marking the end of winter and the beginning of the new year,” wrote professor Xiaohuan Zhao of the College of Sydney.
Group steps up
On the Harmony library, Lassalle stated though she has had challenges coordinating the occasion the previous three years, she was grateful for the neighborhood help this yr in rising the celebration.
Contribute to Native Information Issues
“This year, I was lucky enough to have two groups; the Concord Ambassadors — this is the first year they have partnered with us — and we also work with the Chinese Cultural Club from Clayton Valley Charter High School,” Lassalle stated.
When requested concerning the neighborhood’s function in bringing this celebration collectively, the librarian stated folks prefer to “see themselves reflected in these programs.”
“That’s the beauty of the library. Libraries are an open space for everything, and that’s my point of view as a librarian,” Lassalle stated. “I just want the community to see that the library is more than a building for books. I want them to see the heart of the community. I think activities like this make people go, ‘Oh, they see me.’”
Harmony youth companies librarian Rosa Lassalle helped manage the library’s annual Lunar New Yr celebration. “I just want the community to see that the library is more than a building for books. I want them to see the heart of the community. I think activities like this make people go, ‘Oh, they see me,’” Lassalle stated of the celebration. (Milan Barney/CCSpin)
One of many applications she referred to is the lion dance, carried out by Tomizaki’s Champions Kung Fu Institute. Performer and speaker Bryn Dexheimer defined how this cultural artwork type ties in with Chinese language martial arts, and the way necessary it’s to maintain these traditions going.
“Keeping art forms alive is keeping culture alive,” Dexheimer stated. “Of course, there are lots of ways to perpetuate Chinese culture, and this is one of the easiest ways to bring joy to others through that.
“I grew up doing this. This is what I know and love, so I am excited to be able to share these things with the next generation,” Dexheimer added.
Cedric Chen, a Harmony resident, and Henry Hiroshi, a member of the Harmony Ambassadors, got here to have a good time the Yr of the Snake with native mates and households. Each shared their views on this culturally wealthy vacation.
“For me, the two most memorable things are, of course, the food. There are certain foods like noodles — you can’t cut the noodles. The longer the noodles are, the more longevity,” Chen stated. “You (also) see a lot of oranges around. Oranges represent gold. Red represents luck.”
Don’t neglect the pink envelopes
Chen stated his second choose is the pink envelopes handed out throughout this time of yr.
“In Cantonese, it’s called lai see, and in Mandarin, it’s hongbao,” Chen defined. “We usually give young children a red envelope with money, but also, married people give to single friends. Those are the two big things from my memory.”
An estimated 2 billion folks globally have a good time the Lunar New Yr. Nonetheless, there are variations relying on the nation and smaller communities.
“The Japanese community still has a celebration,” defined Hiroshi who’s of Japanese heritage. “It’s more around the Gregorian calendar rather than the lunar calendar, and basically, the Japanese society switched over to the Gregorian calendar in the 1500s, so we still have some elements of it,” he stated, referring to lunar standstill, additionally referred to as a lunistice.
Harmony resident Cedric Chen, left, and Henry Hiroshi, a member of the Harmony Ambassadors, have a good time the Yr of the Snake with native mates and households on the Harmony Library. “For me, the two most memorable things are, of course, the food. There are certain foods like noodles — you can’t cut the noodles. The longer the noodles are, the more longevity,” Chen stated. (Milan Barney/CCSpin)
When requested about how the Lunar New Yr strengthens their bonds with the neighborhood and households, Chen stated, “It’s a little hard because my family’s scattered across the country, the world, and what have you.
“But before, especially with my grandparents, we always, during the Lunar New Year, got together for dinner,” Chen added. “It’s one of those things where we try to celebrate elements of culture and, of course, the lion dances that we saw here — very traditional.”
“That also is basically the Japanese thing, too,” Hiroshi stated. “We get together on new year’s day. We gather as much family as we can in the area, and we’ll have a meal or two together with the traditional foods.”
Though it is a completely satisfied time for many who have a good time the Lunar New Yr indirectly, Chen stated the present political local weather on this nation has influenced to what diploma many have a good time this yr.
“I think we need to be more vocal about our community. Some of us have been here for generations, and we need to let people know we’ve been here just as long as a lot of other folks who got here,” Chen stated. “We’re not gonna be invisible … we’re not just gonna be swept away. So the current political climate right now, it’s temporary, but we got to be ourselves.
“The whole thing is that you need to pay attention, you need to build bridges, and you need to be vocal,” added Chen, his message for others. “But at the same time, you need to celebrate.”
Milan Barney is a twelfth grader at Pittsburg Excessive Faculty in Pittsburg. This story initially appeared in CCSpin.
