Lunar New Year Culture

Lunar New Year

A holiday is a day of festivity or recreation when no work is done. Holidays are times where families and loved ones come together in order to enjoy the presence of one another. Holidays allow for individuals to reflect and appreciate their own cultures, religions, and/or beliefs. Although not all holidays are the same, the Lunar New Year is a holiday that is celebrated all throughout Asia. Traditionally, the holiday is celebrated with Lion dances, dragon dances, fireworks, family, and much more. As Asian Americans have immigrated into the United States, the holiday has evolved to become more of an Asian American holiday. In the article, Lunar New Year is morphing into an all-American holiday with taco trucks, beatboxing and

As the Lunar New Year has started to evolve, it has transformed into an Asian American holiday. As defined, culture is a “particular way of life of a people living together in a particular place” (Lee 42). Traditionally, the Lunar New Year was a time when red envelopes would be hung on tangerine trees, a time when the house would be cleaned in order to bring in good luck, and a time when red posters would be plastered around the house. As the culture and holiday around the Lunar New Year has started to evolve, the author believes that the holiday is “a celebration of ethnic pride rather than out of adherence to superstitions about luck” (Shyong). In addition, as the holiday evolves, he believes that the culture focusses more on young Asian Americans. One example stated in the article is the use of mainstream media, such as NBA commercials, to represent the holiday. “This year the NBA released a promotional video in which Steph Curry, Jeremy Lin and James Harden sit down to dinner with a Chinese family and outfitted some of its players with custom-made Chinese New Year’s jerseys” (Shyong). Mainly focusing on the younger crowd, the NBA commercial is meant to bring attention to both the Lunar New Year holiday and the NBA. Furthermore, the holiday is also being displayed on mainstream media through T.V. shows, such as Fresh off the Boat. As the culture has expanded and evolved into a new holiday within 21st century America, certain traditions have changed while others have remained