“[I think it’s an important tradition] because it’s when families get together. It’s to start off the new year and to bless the year. It’s to make sure that all of us stay together for the rest of the year. It’s what we’ve always done, [and] it’s important to us because we believe if you don’t have family, you don’t really have anything.”
Lindsey Chan ’20
“We get together with my cousins from my mom’s side of the family who are also biracial, and we go to my grandmother’s house. We don’t really Americanize anything; we try to keep it to straight to the culture. It’s only that it’s a really cool experience for my dad to celebrate with us. He loves learning new things, so he’ll try to speak Chinese at these gatherings, and we’ll make fun of him for his accent and everything.”
Emily Jackson ’19
“[Lunar New Year] is a time when I really think about my great-grandparents who built their own rafts and sailed from China to Thailand in search of a better life. They had heard a rumor that Thailand had really fertile soil and that you could make a great life out of it, so they risked everything and moved. This story just reminds me to be thankful for what I have like my life right now, my parents’ life, and my future.”
Jan Rangsisingpipat ’19
“My grandma always tries to feed me chicken feet on the Chinese New Year, but I hate chicken feet. So a couple of years ago, during my freshman year, she snuck it under all of the food that I liked. I was eating it, and eating it, and then midway through I was like, ‘Grandma, why do you do this to me?’ She was laughing at herself, and it was just really funny.”
Amanda Li ’18
“My family and I will send out red packets to each other and our close friends. We’ll wish each other a ‘Happy New Year!’ and usually just stay up until midnight and watch TV because in China, there are always national entertainment broadcasts on the Lunar New Year. Also, my grandma makes dumplings which we end up eating as a family.”
Larry Pan ’17
