There have been many FMHS students asking why we have the day off this coming Wednesday, January 29th, 2025. Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, has been celebrated for over 3000 years. It marks the end of winter and the first day of spring. This year the FM District made the decision to recognize the event as a holiday and allowed all buildings to have the day off.
Lunar New Year’s Origin
The Chinese legend states that thousands of years ago, every year before spring, a monster named Nian (Chinese for the word “year”) would attack countryside villages. Nian harmed villagers, livestock, and homes. Eventually, the villagers realized that Nian was driven away from loud noises, bright lights, and the color red. They put these things outside their homes and Nian never bothered them again.
Common Tradition
From the first new moon to the first full moon of the lunar calendar, celebrations and festivities will occur. Lunar New Year is generally a huge family reunion and celebration. Big family dinners will take place that have various foods including: Dayu Darou (fish), Jiao Zi (dumplings), Chun Juan (spring rolls), and Nian Gao (sweet rice cake). Married couples and older relatives will give red envelopes filled with money to wish good luck and health to loved ones.
Fireworks are said to keep evil away in China. Many are set off in celebration of the new year. Red paper lanterns are put upside-down and strung along walls of homes; families are granting luck entering their households. It is also said to be good luck to buy and wear new clothes, representing a fresh start to the new year.
Additionally, a common entertainment during Lunar New Year is the dragon dance. Performing the dragon dance is said to drive away all evil spirits and bring in good luck with its confidence and courageousness.
2025 – Year of the Snake
Wednesday marks the beginning and return of the Year of the Snake according to the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 separate animals that represent different years. There are multiple ways to interpret snakes in Chinese culture, but in terms of the coming new year, we’ll only recognize the positive connotations. Snakes are considered as “xiao long” translated to “little dragon” in English. In Chinese culture, dragons symbolize strength, good luck, and health. In all, snakes represent fortune, wisdom, and the pursuit of love and happiness as shown by the generational Tale of the White Snake.
If you were born in the years: 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 or 2025, then you were born in the Year of the Snake. Embrace it! Your year only comes every 12 years. Your zodiac animal is associated with charm, wisdom, cleverness, and you make thoughtful decisions. Kung hei fat choi!
