Lunar New Year 2022 – Year of the Tiger- February 1, 2022

I’m back after a bit of a blogging hiatus! If you’ve been following my blog and saw my Lunar New Year post last year, the Year of the Ox, you won’t be surprised by this post. If you’re thinking I’m going to make an annual tradition here, you’re right!

Unlike last year, I’m not struggling with the blues this winter, yay! And unlike last year, I now go to my office in NYC twice a week. With the endless news of Asians of all ages being attacked, I’m definitely on alert walking the sidewalks, the Port Authority, and the subways!

Like last year, I am still participating in my hometown’s initiative to encourage diversity and inclusion within my community. It takes a village–both literally and figuratively– to combat racism, because racism exists in all communities, whether you know it or not. The more community members get involved in such initiatives, the better off all communities will be! Racism comes from stereotypes that comes from ignorance that comes from fear. Communication and information have the power to eradicate all of that! But it requires a unified effort from within each community. There should be ZERO tolerance for hate and racism!

And like last year, I was asked to help my local diversity group come up with information to share about the Lunar New Year. I am honored to be part of the Advisory Council for that group and they have adapted the information below to share with our community.

Interesting Facts about the Lunar New Year

I made one 1-pager which contains 8 (8 is a lucky number for Chinese) Lunar New Year key points on one side and a small stroke order tutorial for the tiger character in Chinese and a fun Word Search activity on the other side . This piece is great for sharing with kids and raising their interest and appreciation at a young age of East Asian cultures celebrating the Lunar New Year!

The information contained in my blog post below is longer and cannot be jammed into a 1-page document about the Lunar New Year. Some of the information was even new to me, and it was all so fascinating that I had to share! Thanks for reading and sharing!

NYC Chinatown Chinese New Year parade a few years ago

The largest human migration in the world

Did you know that 3 billion trips are made each year (including return trips) to visit relatives by plane, train, and car to celebrate Chinese New Year? Referred to as chunyun (春运), this is the travel period up to 15 days before the week-long Chinese Spring Festival celebration (or chunjie (春) and up to 40 days. This is up to 40 days in part due to a lack of options with transportation available for millions to make each one-way trip in the same time frame. after chunjie. This year, chunjie starts on January 31 (New Year’s Eve) and ends on February 6. In In modern China, most of the elderly parents still live in the rural villages of their ancestors, while the younger generations work in the cities. Why do they call it the Spring Festival when it takes place during the winter? The Festival marks the end of the coldest days of winter, where people welcome the coming spring by planting, representing new beginnings and new beginnings.

Most and Incompatible Signs

Best Signs/Auspicious Years: Dog, Horse
Semi-Compatible Signs: Dragon, Rat
Incompatible Signs: Monkey, Snake

Some famous people born in the year of the TIGER

My collection of red envelopes saved over the years

More than red Chinese New Year envelopes

Etiquette:

1. Gift crisp, new bills, as gifting dirty or wrinkled bills is not a good idea.

2. Accept a red envelope with both hands and express gratitude using an appropriate phrase. It is considered impolite to accept a red envelope with one hand and not express gratitude using the appropriate phrase.

3. Don’t gift coins.

4. Do not give amounts that start with the number 4, such as $4, $40 or $400. The Chinese number ‘4’ means ‘death’ and is therefore considered unlucky. Even numbers are better than odd numbers. The number ‘8’ is considered lucky, so gifts like $8, $80 or $88 are best.

5. Don’t open your red envelope in front of the person who gave it to you.

Taboos and Superstitions

Like almost every other culture around the world, there are many taboos and superstitions that have been adapted over the centuries, all with the goal of attracting good fortune in the New Year and protecting against bad luck.

Things to do:

• Talk about good, fun things to set the tone for the new year
• Pay off your debts before the new year begins
• Wear red because red is the luckiest color

Must not:

• Do not cut your hair during the New Year, as this will cause the connections to be broken
• Do not wear black or white, as both colors are associated with mourning
• Do not wash your hair or wash in 1^St or 2^n.d new year’s day, because that will wash away good fortune
• Don’t sweep to 1^St or 2^n.d new year’s day, because that will sweep away accumulated wealth/luck
• Do not cry or argue, as this will bring bad luck