Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year Celebrated At The Independence Seaport Museum

... first day of the Year of the Rooster, the family created dragon puppets, a drum made of paper plates, and a paper lantern to commemorate the Lunar New Year, which people of Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean descent celebrate in time with the first new moon after the winter solstice. More than 20 countries celebrate a lunar new year at various times. The Independence Seaport Museum began hosting Lunar New Year celebrations a decade ago, said Michael Flynn, a vice president at the museum. An upstairs exhibit highlights Philadelphia as the first city to begin trading with China after the United States declared its independence. So the city has a special connection to the country, Flynn said, which Saturday's celebration spotlighted. "It's a wonderful way we try to connect part of our story to the public," he said. The museum featured crafts for children, who made dragon puppets in honor of Vietnam, where puppetry is a tradition. They sculpted models of maneki-neko, or the "beckoning cat" with one paw raised, a Japanese figurine meant to bring good fortune. They learned ...

Taiwanese-americans Welcome Lunar New Year In Baltimore

... in Baltimore welcome the Year of the Rooster. As people sat down to eat Saturday to celebrate the lunar new year at the Johns Hopkins University, their tables were set not only with flowers but also with oranges — one of several traditions meant to bring good luck. The fruit reminds people that "things can only get better and better," said Min Eu, a board member of the Taiwanese Association of America's Greater Baltimore and Columbia chapter. The group, along with the Johns Hopkins Taiwanese Student Association, gathered Saturday afternoon at Charles Commons to welcome the Year of the Rooster. Maryland first lady Yumi Hogan was among the guests attending the celebration. She grew up in the South Korean countryside and is the first Korean-American first lady in the United States. Many people wore red, ...

Celebrating Lunar New Year With The Woman Who Changed Chinese Food In The U.s

... In The U. S. Celebrating Lunar New Year With The Woman Who Changed Chinese Food In The U. S. Many Chinese-Americans are celebrating the start of the Lunar New Year Saturday. We'll meet the 97-year-old who helped revolutionize Chinese food in America and find out how she's celebrating. SCOTT SIMON, HOST. The 97-year-old woman who helped revolutionize what Americans think Chinese food is celebrates the Lunar New Year in San Francisco. Cecilia Chiang opened her influential restaurant, The Mandarin, in 1961 - a time when most U. S. Chinese restaurants served chop suey. The Mandarin attracted celebrities and food enthusiasts with dishes like tea-smoked duck and twice-cooked pork. Chiang told NPR's Neda Ulaby how she's ringing in the year of the rooster. NEDA ULABY, BYLINE: First, though, I asked Cecilia Chiang what it's like to be 97 years old. CECILIA CHIANG: Right now, I'm so busy. ULABY: It's true. Scheduling our interview was hard because at this lunch or that dinner or plans with friends or ...

As Chinese New Year Approaches, Shanghai's Bustling Streets Grow Quieter

... 85, prepares fish and chicken feet for the Lunar New Year holiday in her garden-level kitchen. Rob Schmitz/NPR. The only vendor left in the alley sells calendars, but soon he'll pack up, too. It's the time of year when Shengping Lane lives up to its name: 升平 or "Rising Peace.". It'll soon be the Year of the Rooster, and Yuan Shuizhen is preparing chicken feet in her tiny kitchen for the big meal. The 85-year-old wipes her hands, retreats outside and plops down on a chair along the side of the alley to chat with friends. "All the outsiders have left for home," says Yuan, leaning over to peer down the narrow lane. This is the time of year when hundreds of millions of Chinese workers return to their hometowns. Nearly half of Shanghai's 26 million people weren't born in Shanghai, and many of them have already left. "It's much quieter this time of year — less crazy," Yuan says. The last remaining street vendor in Rising Peace Lane before new year celebrations begin sells new year's decorations and calendars. ...

The Hectic Beauty Of China’s Massive Chinese New Year Migration

... the first to know about new stories from Power Post. Sign up to follow, and we’ll e-mail you free updates as they’re published. You’ll receive free e-mail news updates each time a new story is published. You’re all set. By Emily Rauhala By Emily Rauhala January 27 Follow emilyrauhala. Chinese travelers line up to board trains home at Beijing Railway Station on January 26, 2017. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images). China is on the move. Over the last two weeks, hundreds of millions of people set out, dragging stretched-tight suitcases, shopping bags full of gifts and hopes for the year ahead.  The month-long lunar new year travel season, known as chunyun, is a feat of logistics and human drama on an epic scale. [ 5 Chinese travellers on their hopes for the lunar new year ]. The numbers can be hard to fathom: China’s Ministry of Transport estimates that Chinese will make 2.98 billion trips between ...

Lunar New Year Celebrations Ignite In Southern California

... event is to promote diversity and cultural awareness, both in the Inland Empire and of Asian Pacific countries. The festival is inclusive of Lunar New Year traditions from China, Vietnam, the Philippines, and other Asian countries. "There's a lot of people who are Asian descent that lives in the [Inland Empire] but we just don't have anything that can bring them all together," Davis said. "We're celebrating diversity, but we're being inclusive of all diversity.". Tet Festival. The Tet Festival is an Orange County tradition. For 36 years, the festival has been organized entirely by volunteers from the Union of Vietnamese Student Association. It was formerly hosted in Little Saigon in Orange County, but this year, it's at the OC Fair & Event Center. The festival encompasses a wide range of events and activities, including the Miss Vietnam of Southern California Pageant to a hip hop dance competition, lion dancing and a pho eating competition. "Our crown jewel of the festival is the Vietnamese cultural village," said Arlene Ho, this year's chairperson of the event. "We build scenes ...

Chinese New Year Celebration Draws In Diverse Crowd

... home. Brase-Houchin and her group Kokyo Taiko shared their deafening rhythm on drums of hardwood and rawhide as part of the Chinese New Year Celebration on Saturday at Auld Pavilion. The celebration, which marked the beginning of the Year of the Rooster on the Chinese lunar calendar, drew people from diverse backgrounds. According to Rebecca Reinhardt, the cultural program coordinator at the Asian Community and Cultural Center, at least nine nationalities were represented. "It's a big festival for Asian countries," Reinhardt said. "But this event is not only for people from Asian countries; we also want to provide it to the community.". Nine performances were scheduled, including two traditional lion dances and two cultural fashion pageants. Children were also greeted with red envelopes containing money - a staple of every Chinese New Year's celebration. Restaurants, including Suji's Korean Grill in Omaha, provided a variety of ethnic foods - dishes from India, Korea, China and Vietnam. According to organizer Veronica Zhang, preparation for the event starts in early December. This is the first year the event ...

Vietnamese Prepare For Lunar New Year By Paying Off Debts, A Tradition That Can Often Bring Stress

... at a group of aging veterans gathered in front of him at the mall. Le, who served in the Vietnamese Army, relocated to the U. S. 20 years earlier under a State Department humanitarian aid program. Single with no family, Le said he rents a tiny space inside a mobile home. “It scares me, the idea of debt,” said Le, who survives on less than $850 a month. “If we can’t pay it, they send us to jail. The American government is very strict when they have their laws.”. Striking a balance between new and old traditions is a constant challenge for the Vietnamese immigrant community. “Honestly, I’m so Americanized that it’s hard to keep up,” said Annie Diep, a homemaker in Irvine, her feet clad in cozy Uggs as she strolled around the Flower Festival along Bolsa Avenue this week before the holiday. She finally decided on a large arrangement of orchids for her mother for $145. With ...

Long Islanders Celebrate Chinese New Year

... Arboretum State Historic Park in Oyster Bay on Jan. 28, 2017, the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year. Food, crafts and most of all performances brought Long Islanders together to wish each other happiness and prosperity in the new year. (Credit: Newsday / Raychel Brightman). advertisement | advertise on newsday. Hundreds of Long Islanders kicked off the Chinese New Year in grand style Saturday in a celebration at Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in Oyster Bay. Hosted by the Oyster Bay-based educational nonprofit Planting Fields Foundation, people from around Long Island spent the day having fun with friends and family and learning about Chinese traditions through dancing and martial arts, children’s games, and Chinese arts and crafts booths. Most Popular. NIFA: Nassau can’t use reserves for refunds. For Lan Hu, 62, of Dix Hills, and her friends Nancy Wu, of ...

Lunar New Year Celebrations Around The World

... Jiangsu province, China on Jan. 27, 2017. Performances and festivals are held to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year around the world, marking the start of the Year of the Rooster. Reuters / Reuters. 2. A woman and a boy take a picture in a street decorated with Chinese lamps to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Yangon, Myanmar on Jan. 25. Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters. 3. A Filipino dancer performs with fire in Manila's Chinatown, Philippines on Jan. 28, 2017. Francis R. Malasig / EPA. 4. A father carries his son on his shoulders as they walk under red lantern decorations at a temple during the celebrations in Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 28. Fazry Ismail / EPA. 5. People perform a fire dragon dance in a shower of molten iron which sparks like fireworks in Wuhan Wuhan, Hubei, China on Jan. 28. Xiong Qi / Zuma Press. 6. Indonesian Muslims watch a woman dressed up in traditional Chinese costume during the Lunar New Year celebrations in Malang, eastern Java island on Jan. 28. Aman ...

Red Envelope, Mooncake, Firecracker Emoji Are Now Upcoming Unicode Candidates

... and good fortune. In recent years, digital red envelopes have increasingly grown as national phenomenon in China. We Chat, the country’s most popular messaging app, have introduced several interactive ways to send money over the app’s payment solution. In 2015, users were given a specific time to literally shake their phone to try to snag one of some million digital red envelopes We Chat sent out, lottery-style. This produced a national craze that got people trying to shake multiple devices simultaneously in hopes of winning some free cash. Last year, a new We Chat feature allowed users to share a blurry photo and others have to send “lucky money” to unlock the image. In 2016, more than 8 billion digital red envelopes were exchanged on We Chat. It may all sound gimmicky, but in 2016, more than 8 billion digital red envelopes were exchanged over the platform. That doesn’t include what was shared over China’s microblogging platform, Sino Weibo. So sure, a red envelope emoji may just be an emoji. But to a culture people who value what the little drawing symbolizes, it may ...