The last day of Chinese New Year celebrations is marked by the Lantern Festival, which takes place on the 15th day of the first lunar month.
This year, the Lantern Festival falls on March 3 bringing the Spring Festival period to a joyous end. Framed by rich traditions, fond memories and heartwarming reunion, the festivities are rooted in cultural similarities and a few differences across Asia.
So, let’s take a peek into how different communities celebrate the Chinese New Year.
On food and reunion
London-based, Chinese calligraphy and brush artist Carry Hornby, looks back at her memories celebrating Chinese New Year in Taiwan. She says “The family reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve highlights a feast with a symbolic foods like a fish for abundance and dumpling resembling gold bars for prosperity and noodles for longevity. Sweet rice balls are also served to represent family together, niece and reunion.”
Also based in London, but originally from Malaysia, Leanne Tan adds, “Traditionally we’ll have reunion dinner on the eve of Chinese New Year – normally with immediate family. Typically we will make Yee Sang at our dinners, which is a prosperity salad with a meaning behind each ingredient with a meaning – like salmon representing abundance and prosperity – to usher in blessings and good things. We collectively toss it in the air while yelling for good luck and all good things we want to manifest. That’s definitely one of my favourite parts!”
Meanwhile, Gabrielle Marie Yap, a culinary entrepreneur from the Philippines reflects on a table full of dishes and how it shaped her work, saying ” Growing up, our family table always featured at least 12 symbolic dishes for prosperity, a tradition that directly informs my professional work. Today, I modernise festive recipes from across Southeast Asia, focusing on how tradition evolves while keeping its core symbolism intact.”
On spending time with loved ones
For Leanne who is spending New Year away from home, dinners with friends and immersing in their traditions is a comforting experience.
She says, “At home, we would spend the first two days, we will go visit relatives to collect angpaos (red packets), wish them all the good wishes and have other visitations over the 15 days celebration.”
“Now, in London, I have friends who invite me to dinner and I’m grateful for that as it’s a small reminder of home. I celebrated with the Hong Kong community this year, and while I don’t know much about their specific traditions, there’s one that is to have fish, as there’s saying “nian nian you yu” which is like “every year you have abundance” because yu (fish) also sounds like abundance.”
Ms Carry shares, “In addition to the family dinners, my fondest memories of celebrating Chinese New Year growing up in Taiwan includes visits to the Temple, worshiping ancestors to seek blessings.”
“In London, Asian communities continue to practice some of the traditions such as family union dinner. Chinatown would be extraordinarily busy during this period of time. There will also be lion dances in London near Trafalgar Square every year.”
On traditions to welcome abundance
Speaking of a way that families bond and welcome luck together during the New Year, Leanne says, “In our family we like playing card games together for fun.”
Reflecting on her expertise of calligraphy and traditions related to it, Ms Carry adds, ” In terms traditional calligraphy practice there are red decorations on scrolls writing on red paper believing it can ward off the Nian monster, red calligraphy couplets with auspicious symbols are placed on doors and windows as well.”
On the Lantern Festival
The core meaning of the Lantern Festival is simple and sweet as Mengqi, based in China, explains, “The theme of the Lantern Festival is reunion.”
Ms Carry dives into it further saying, “The 15th day of the new year is the last day of the festival celebration when lanterns are lit and sweet rice balls are served. Everyone will wear something new something red.”
Meanwhile, Leanne explains, that in Malaysia the lantern festival is more synonymous with the Mid Autumn festival than the Spring Festival. She says, ” In Malaysia, we don’t call it Lantern Festival. We call it chap goh mei ( ie 15th day in Hokkein), and we mostly just have another dinner together on the day.”
Traditions versus modernity
As Chinese New Year celebrations evolve over time and across the globe, we’re offered two equally vibrant perspectives that capture traditions and modernity.
Of the traditional meals of China, Mengqi says, “We have a formal meal with the whole family but different areas eat differently. For instance, in the south of China we usually eat sweet dumplings while it’s more savoury variety in the north.”
Meanwhile, Gabrielle channels her culinary experience to reflect on modernised versions of a traditional Lunar New Year menu. She says,” We have transformed the classic sweet rice cake known as tikoy into a dessert with five different textures. Similarly, we can deconstruct chicken – which represents family completeness – to capture the symbolism but also keep evolving the story.”
Did you learn something new about Chinese New Year traditions? Visit Lyrical Muse for global culture stories.
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