At the school board meeting on May 25, 2021, LCPS decided to add more holidays to the school calendar in order to allow more to honor their traditions. Among these holidays are Yom Kippur, Diwali, and Lunar New Year. Most recently, on Feb. 1, students and staff were given the day off to celebrate their New Year traditions, both new and old. 

Celebrated in many East Asian countries, Lunar New Year originated in China and was celebrated on the first day of February  this year. Traditionally, Lunar New Year is celebrated over multiple days where families reunite to feast and honor ancestors and deities. Following the lunar calendar, where the first day of each month is on a new moon, The New Year usually falls between late January and early February. 

There are two main colors associated with Lunar New Year: red and gold. Red is traditionally worn when good things happen and is thought to bring good luck and prosperity, while gold symbolizes wealth. Buying new clothes and cleaning the house before the new year is very common, because it’s considered good luck to start the new year fresh and it’s an early welcome for the spring season. 

Senior Sydney Duran 

Ever since she was young, senior Sydney Duran looked forward to celebrating the Lunar New Year with her family. “I would go to my grandma’s house to eat and all my family would be there and [also] pictures of my ancestors,” Duran said. 

Duran celebrated the New Year by wearing a “qipao” and a “cheongsam,” traditional Chinese clothings. Eating dinner with family is also one of Duran’s traditions, where fish is often on the menu. Another one of her traditions is distributing out red envelopes filled with money to close family members, which are known as “Li xi.” “Usually the envelopes are bright red and have golden illustrations, which feature the animal that represents the year it is [becoming],” Duran said.

Although Lunar New Year was not recognized as a holiday on the LCPS calendar in the past, Duran always made a point to make the most of the Chinese New Year celebrations. “Lunar New Year is important to me, because it is a major holiday in my culture, and growing up I’ve associated Lunar New Year heavily with my [Chinese] heritage,” Duran said.

Senior Charlize Huang

Celebrating both the Vietnamese and Chinese New Year, senior Charlize Huang enjoys having big meals with her family and receiving red envelopes “from my elders.” Huang has celebrated Lunar New Year her whole life and is excited that it has been added as an official holiday. “I think it’s great that LCPS recognizes this holiday,” Huang said. “Especially since [the New Year] was on a weekday this year, I was able to celebrate it fully [because it was made a holiday].”

To Huang, celebrating Lunar New Year and the Western New Year are equally important because they hold “cultural significance,” and allow for her family to take time and honor the various traditions her family follows. 

History Teacher Meredith Taylor 

History teacher Meredith Taylor wasn’t familiar with Lunar New Year until she met her husband. Now, it is a yearly tradition where her family goes to her mother in law’s house for a “really a special time.” 

Taylor celebrated the New Year with a big feast full of traditional East Asian dishes. Although the coronavirus limited the amount in attendance, Taylor said it still felt “so wonderful” talking for hours to catch up with her family.

An important tradition that her family takes part in is sharing what they are thankful for and what they look forward to in the new year. One of her favorite memories was “seeing my son light up, because we weren’t expecting anything,” Taylor said, when handed the red envelope filled with money by her relatives. 

She also enjoys being able to converse with her students about the holiday. “I like having that connection with some of the students and being able to talk about it,” Taylor said.