Ironically, my first publication on the Miss Chinatown Beauty Pageant explored how Chinese New Year’s celebrations, specifically those in San Francisco Chinatown, served multiple functions. So, even though I was aware of Lunar New Year (eating lucky foods like dumplings and fish, receiving red envelopes from elders in exchange for happy new year salutations and wishes of good fortune, or knowing my zodiac year - I am a monkey), it never felt like the important holiday that it was supposed to be. Since our family ran a restaurant, initially, and then a convenience store, we rarely had time for extended holiday celebrations. But it was a far cry from the large concentrations in Seattle and Vancouver, where we visited once a year to stock up on Chinese groceries and to eat dim sum. My family socialized with other small business owners and their families as well as international students and faculty. “I immigrated at the age of six and grew up in Spokane, Washington, which was home to a small Chinese American community. – Hu Ying, professor of East Asian studies How is Lunar New Year celebrated around the world? China/Chinese Americans Penny Lee Wong was the first Miss Chinatown in 1948.Ĭredit: Glamour & Grace, from the CHSA Collection The Year of the Ox is believed to be a time when difficulties can be overcome by steady and patient work (may it be so!).” Those born in the Year of the Ox are diligent, persistent and honest. In either version, the ox was to be the first to arrive, but the rat cheated by riding on the ox’s back and made a last-minute dash to the finish line. This the Chinese folklore changed to a competition among the animals when the Jade Emperor was choosing palace guards. By about the first century AD, the 12 zodiac animals became matched to the more ancient calendar of 60-year cycle used by the central states of China.Ī Buddhist legend tells of the animals rushing to bid farewell to the dying Buddha. “The 12-animal zodiac is important to people of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Mongolia, Tibet, and other East Asian cultures, although its origin is somewhat obscure, possibly beginning in animal worship of northern nomadic tribes. What is the origin of Lunar New Year and what does the Year of the Ox mean? Below, scholars from the UC Irvine School of Humanities explain the holiday’s origin and its many celebrations. This year marks the Year of the Ox, one of twelve zodiacs in the cycle. In the U.S., it is most commonly associated with what’s often called Chinese New Year, the American version of China’s 15-day-long festivities. In Vietnam, Lunar New Year is known as Tết in Korea it’s known as Seollal. This February 12 marks the start of Lunar New Year, a festival celebrated in many countries that begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar.
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