Celebrating Lunar New Year as a second generation American is something I find tricky, especially because both my parents have passed away and my husband’s family isn’t of Chinese descent. Of course I want our son to understand why celebrating the lunar new year is important and to have that as part of his memories growing up, but I also find that I am still in an experimental phase. Having wholly assimilated into America, I struggle with doing things in a way that doesn’t tie in logically with our day-to-day life, so I know I have a ways to go before I feel 100% comfortable about how we approach celebrating lunar new year.
The magic of holidays for littles
Early childhood is a time that we know the kids don’t remember very well, which is I think one of the reasons why I’m still giving myself grace to not go all out on all the parties. I’m also a value-oriented person, so I typically find it wasteful to invite whole classrooms to a kids’ party when they don’t all get along anyway and there might be some kids that my kid wouldn’t want to see (#SorryNotSorry for the #TruthBomb).
But there’s definitely a gamut in celebration forwardness between grinch-like (i.e. not celebrating at all) and maximalist (i.e. going all out). While I acknowledge that the littles in early childhood won’t remember all the things we’ve done for them, I know they remember the feelings, so I still encourage families to celebrate and mark the days in some way that makes sense for them and their lifestyles. They’re only little once, and anyway, especially during these past two years of groundhog days, it’s important to break up the monotony!
Besides, early childhood learning should contain geographical exposure! Celebrating holidays and festivals that aren’t American gives you an opportunity to talk about other countries and show your child that the world is much bigger and way more diverse than their current home/neighborhood. Especially in terms of diversity and inclusion, I think it’s critical to start this dialogue early. Foreign travel might not be in the cards for all families, but learning about other customs and putting one’s self in other cultures is a worthwhile exercise in opening up eyes, hearts, and minds.
What I consider the bare minimum for celebrating lunar new year
There are a few things I consider essential to celebrating lunar new year:
- Very serious housecleaning – KonMari style if you can manage it, spring clean status if you can’t or don’t want to. Doing so gets rid of bad luck from the current year and makes it possible to welcome in good fortune for the upcoming year. All cleaning has to end before the stroke of midnight on lunar New Year’s Eve!
- Dinner with good fortune foods – there are many, but our bare minimum three which thankfully can be sourced includes dumplings (wealth), oranges with stems and leaves (fullness and wealth), and noodles (not too picky here – pretty much any Asian style long ones; these symbolize longevity). If I’m feeling up to it, I’ll figure out a fish dish (but usually without the head which is why I’m on the fence about this most of the time; fish symbolize prosperity). And I include baos for the hell of it.
- Wearing red – even underwear and socks!
- Reading books about celebrating lunar new year or related foods with the little ones. My favorites for 4-year olds include:
- Handing out red envelopes to unmarried friends and kids
- Take a shower on lunar New Year’s Eve – not on lunar new year itself!
- Listening to the astrological forecast for the upcoming year (see below)
What the year of the tiger has in store for us in 2022
Part of the fun for me in celebrating lunar new year is hearing the predictions for the year ahead. Here’s the forecast for the year of the tiger 2022!
- Unfortunately, it’s not going to be a very good year and the geomancer who works with Joanna Lee and Ken Smith, two of the most delightful people in NYC who publish the pocket chinese almanac said “there will be a shroud of murder in the air”.
- Lots of unexpeted phenomena
- The people who are out for themselves and not the betterment of society will have a slight upper hand this year
- We will have a lot of quick flowing matters and events, so we must be constantly aware, learn to adapt quickly, and seize the chances to win.
- Being kindhearted and generous means a lot as it creates a lot of rewards for you. This essentially stores goodwill and protection for you for the year.
- There are people standing on the side and ready to usurp power
- There are at least three cycles in Chinese astrology to be aware of. First, there is a 60-year umbrella cycle (12 animals and 5 elements). Next, there are shifts very 20 years within the 60 year cycles. The next new 20 year cycle will be in 2024, so we are mercifully at the tail end of an old 20 year cycle which has been a doozy for sure.
- This means there will be things that will be starting anew. This current 20 year cycle we’re in has been marked by the earth element. Think of the boom in real estate and the emphasis on climate change. When the element changes in 2024, there will be a shift.
- Finally, we are in year 3 of a 12 year cycle. 2020 was the year of the rat and that was the first year of the new 12 year cycle. That is the last major type of cycle to be aware of. The water element of the tiger year this year is black as in dark, so that’s the reason why this year is a year that flows. Flow is not necessarily good becuase things will move so quickly. But if you grab opportunities quickly, you win.
- There is an overriding belief in the chiense zodiac that the first day of first year of a new 12 year cycle will represnt the next 12 years which is depressing, but the cycles overlap so it is not all bad news bears.
- Pandemic will ebb and flow, so just be prepared. Things will not be very easy until later in the year (Q3/Q4)
- Summary: 2022 will be marked with many obstacles clogging flow. Accumulate grains in case of famine – SAVE MONEY. One should always be wary of turns of events and especially of sudden turns of events which will take place in summer and fall
Celebrating lunar new year with toddlers and preschoolers
The most important thing about cultural celebrations is exposure, even if you can’t replicate the full feeling of a holiday because your family isn’t around. There are a ton of great events in NYC and while they might not all be authentic, the energy goes a long way towards impressing upon the littles what a holiday is getting at, and it shows them that their heritage matters. I am an assimilated American and there isn’t much I can do to or want to do about that. I’ve loved growing up straddling two cultures. The challenge now is sharing that other part of me with our son, and the first step that I’ve taken is committing to the path. Now I have to keep going with how to convey the uniqueness and value of celebrating this other side. More to come!
