As people around the world celebrate Lunar New Year on February 10, 2024, astronauts are joining in the festivities from space.
Happy Lunar New Year!
Today, February 10, marks the Lunar New Year, a significant holiday celebrated with rich traditions and cultural importance worldwide. Lunar New Year always begins with the second new moon after the Winter Solstice, typically falling between January 21 and February 20.
During Lunar New Year, families and friends gather to enjoy traditional foods and honor their ancestors. Festivities often include fireworks and parades featuring colorful dragons and lions. People exchange gifts such as red envelopes filled with money. The celebrations last for 15 days, concluding on the night of the next full moon, which falls on Feb. 24 this year.
Lunar New Year’s origins are believed to date back to ancient times. The holiday’s timing follows the traditional Chinese calendar, known as a lunisolar calendar, which combines the positions of the sun and the phases of the moon.
In China, while the Gregorian calendar is used for most official purposes, traditional holidays and festivals still adhere to the lunisolar calendar.
Lunar New Year is celebrated globally, but it’s particularly significant in China and other Asian countries such as Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia.
During Lunar New Year, billions of people travel worldwide, making it the biggest annual human migration. In China, this travel rush is called “Chunyun” or “spring transportation,” named after the Lunar New Year period, also known as Spring Festival.
Just like many people in China, the astronauts on the Tiangong space station celebrated Lunar New Year with a special feast. They enjoyed dishes like smoked fish, scallion pancakes, roast duck, dumplings, and more.
In 2024, Lunar New Year welcomes the Year of the Dragon, considered exceptionally fortunate in many cultures. It’s believed to bring prosperity and good luck. Interestingly, every 12 years, during the Year of the Dragon, there tends to be a baby boom as the zodiac cycle repeats.
The Dragon is the only mythical creature in the Chinese zodiac. It symbolizes good luck, strength, intelligence, and prosperity. In China, it holds deep cultural significance, often representing the emperors and the country’s rich 5,000-year history.
Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) celebrated Lunar New Year by recognizing the contributions and traditions of the Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in Georgia and across the country.
Senator Warnock expressed gratitude to Georgia’s vibrant Asian American community and pledged to stand against hate and discrimination in a Lunar New Year video message. He also reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring equal opportunities for all to pursue the American Dream.
In 2024, it’s the Year of the Dragon, symbolizing prosperity, strength, and good luck. I wish all celebrating Lunar New Year a happy holiday filled with joy, hope, and renewal.”
Celebrating Lunar New Year
ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE
To all beloved friends, whether near or far, celebrating Lunar New Year, I extend my heartfelt wishes. This festive time signifies reflection, hope, and unity, not just in the United States but across the globe, demonstrating our shared humanity.
As we embrace the Year of the Dragon, let us embody its traits of strength and resilience. May the upcoming year bring happiness, good health, and prosperity to all.
Chines New Year History:
Before the Lunar New Year celebration as we know it, ancient Chinese marked the end of the harvest in autumn with various traditions. This was different from the Mid-Autumn Festival, which focused on worshipping the Moon. People cleaned, toasted with rice wine, cooked lamb, visited masters’ homes, and wished for long life together during this autumn celebration, which served as a prototype for Chinese New Year. The first official celebration dates back to the Warring States period when an exorcism ritual called “Big Nuo” was performed in the Qin state. During the Han dynasty, people worshipped ancestors and exchanged greetings on the first day of the new year. The tradition of all-night revelry called “shousui” started during the Jin dynasty, and firecrackers became popular during the Northern and Southern dynasties. In the Tang dynasty, people began sending New Year’s greeting cards and placing Spring Couplets on doors. Later, traditions like giving money to children, eating dumplings, and others emerged. Attempts to change the date of Chinese New Year faced opposition, and celebrations were even banned during the Cultural Revolution but reinstated in 1980.