How Lunar New Year is Celebrated Across Asia, From China to Malaysia

January 6, 2025 | 10:24 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, marks the beginning of a new year in the Chinese calendar. It’s one of the most important holidays of the year in some parts of Asian countries where large Chinese communities reside. 

Much like the Julian calendar's New Year, whose long-standing traditions are preserved, there are specific ways to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Let’s explore the distinct customs of several countries that join the Chinese New Year’s festivities. 

Lunar New Year Celebrations across Different Countries 

According to Travel Leisure and Times Magazines, below are the common ways to welcome the Lunar New Year in some Asian regions: 

1. China 

China celebrates the Lunar New Year by hosting a New Year’s Eve family gathering where they show up with new clothes and rings in the lucky colors of red and gold. During the celebration dinner, authentic delicacies like baos, pancakes, dumplings, and noodles are prepared from scratch, specifically in the district of northern China. One of the dumplings served usually has coins as their fillings for kids to hunt. 

Chinese people in China also give family members red envelopes consisting of money as a means to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Other customs in regard to the Chinese New Year also include holding off on cutting one’s hair and buying new shoes to avoid washing away the year’s good luck. 

2. South Korea 

The Lunar New Year in South Korea is celebrated by paying respect to elders and their ancestors. Similar to the occasions in China, Korean children also receive money from their families during family gatherings. At this time of the year, people are dressed in full traditional attire, known as hanbok, while enjoying family time. 

After doing the custom of performing deep bows to the elders, family members spend their holidays with culinary delights like dumpling soup, rice cake soup, rice cakes, glass noodles, and braised beef short ribs. 

3. Singapore 

As a diverse city-state, Singapore is inhabited by a 75 percent Chinese population, making a Lunar New Year celebration as festive as New Year’s Eve. Singaporeans begin their Chinese New Year agenda by savoring yusheng, a traditional raw fish salad, nian gao, sticky rice cakes, and pineapple tarts. In addition to the custom of visiting a temple and lighting incense to pay respect to ancestors, people also share red envelopes featuring Fú phrases that symbolize good luck. 

4. Taiwan 

Taiwanese welcome the Lunar New Year with gastronomical parties that include holiday-renowned dishes like dumplings and pineapple. Despite the growing interest in outbound vacations, home celebrations are common in Taiwan during the Chinese New Year. Families usually spend their time visiting elders and exchanging red envelopes to wish for good luck in the upcoming year.

5. Vietnam 

Dressed in traditional clothes, Vietnamese serve holiday-themed dishes such as bánh Tét (a log-like, cylinder snack), bánh chng (a square cake), mut Tét (candied fruits), tom kho (dried shrimp), and c kiu (pickled scallion) during the Chinese New Year. Other customs following the Lunar New Year in Vietnam are to clean your house before the occasion as well as pay off all the debts from the previous year. Once again, the red envelopes money extension is also widely practiced here. 

6. Philippines 

People in the Philippines have a traditional Lunar New Year celebration called Media Noche, or a midnight dinner to invite a year full of prosperity. On the table, sticky rice dishes like nian gao, bibingka, and biko are served in the hope of binding families together. Pancit, or long noodles, also makes an appearance during the celebration as a means to pray for long life and good luck. 

7. Malaysia 

Malaysians celebrate a rather long Lunar New Year that lasts for 15 days, with the occasion of Chap Goh Mei concluding the holiday. Many families gather together to enjoy a cozy dinner at their elderly’s houses, serving the Chinese New Year’s cake and mandarin oranges that symbolize good luck. Within the country, married Chinese are giving out red pocket money envelopes to children and unmarried family members. 

Across different regions of Asia, the Lunar New Year is essentially a vibrant celebration that welcomes a fresh start by honoring family and praying for good fortunes. For those history geeks who crave another unique celebration, let’s take a look at some countries that celebrate Thanksgiving here. 

TRAVEL + LEISURE | TIME | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

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