Woof woof! Happy Chinese/Lunar New Year – it’s the year of the dog ๐ If y’all didn’t know already…I’m of Chinese descent, so I thought it would be fun to share in a post some typical Chinese New Year traditions. Now I have to admit, my family is very Americanized/not super traditional and unfortunately I can’t even speak Chinese that well (I can understand a good amount though!) – but nevertheless I’m still proud of my background and it’s always fun to have an excuse to celebrate, right?!
- Many Chinese New Year celebrations take place at home – it’s all about family time!
- Gifts = red envelopes filled with cash, rather than typical wrapped presents! $$$ Typically, the tradition is that the older relatives give to the younger family members.
- Chinese New Year decorations are all about being RED – the color of luck and good fortune. Lanterns are super popular decor during this time.
- A lot of Chinese New Year celebrations will include lion/dragon dancing and very loud music – it’s super fun in NYC to see CNY festival/parades in the streets of Chinatown. The dancing is to represent good luck.
- Chinese New Year never has a set date and changes every year – it’s all based on the Lunar Calendar during the full moon period.
- “Happy New Year!” in Chinese (in cantonese) is pronounced “Sun Lin Fie Lok!†“Wishing you happiness and prosperity!†is “Gong Hei Fat Choy!”
I’m super sad I won’t be celebrating with my fam this year, but FaceTime will have to do ๐
P.S. – I wore this outfit to the Hong Kong NYFW Fashion Show (full NYFW show recap coming soon!) + Hong Kong NYFW Fashion After Party, and got a ton of compliments on it! It’s actually my mom’s dress that I snagged from her closet over Christmas break :P, but it’s super gorg! Shop the deets below –
Dress: (similar) | Duster: | Heels:
