Celebrating Lunar New Year 2022!

February 15, 2022
by Global Initiatives Team

Diversity International

By Yiyang (Sunny) Fang, PhD student, OTD alumni, Bachelor’s to Master’s alumni

Editors Alison Chang and Vanessa ElShamy
Entry-Level Professional Master’s students

Having lived in the United States for 6 consecutive years since graduating from undergraduate school, celebrating the Lunar New Year in Los Angeles has been a big part of my life! Despite ongoing concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic, I was able to safely gather with my partner and several other friends at home to celebrate the holiday. We went to the local Chinese grocery store, 99 Ranch, and enjoyed home-made HOT POT! Hot pot is one of the most popular meals to have on New Year’s Eve because family members and friends get to gather around the circular boiling pot, cook, and share food as a group. Some of my favorite ingredients to cook in a hot pot include beef and lamb slices, meatballs, fish cakes, spam, rice cakes, potatoes, and a variety of leafy green vegetables. While gathering around the hot pot, we also watched the Chinese New Year Gala (春晚, pronounced as “Chun Wan” in Chinese), a special variety show for New Year’s Eve featuring singing, dancing, magic shows, and drama performances. For many Chinese families, watching the New Year Gala at the New Year’s Eve has become a beloved ritual.

To welcome the year of the Tiger, which is the 3rd of the 12 Chinese Zodiac animals (生肖 , pronounced as “Sheng Xiao”), I added decorations to both the front and back of the doors throughout my apartment. The mandarin orange plushies that I hang at the front of my door symbolize luck and fortune. The Spring Couplets on the back of my door mean “good luck everyday” and “happy everyday.” Having these decorations at home has been a tradition for not only myself, but also my family back in China. The red ornaments create a warm and festive vibe for the important holiday and hold our most genuine wish: that the new year will be a good and prosperous one. I am grateful that I was able to celebrate the Lunar New Year with my friends here in LA in a very meaningful way. I hope that the year of 2022 will bring everyone more happiness, blessings, and good health!!!

⋯