While many people in Asia were celebrating Lunar New Year, I was here in the frigid weather of Greencastle.
It was not a fun experience, but I've gotten used to it because this year was not my first time missing New Year's dinner with family. When you have to endure something unpleasant more than once, I guess it will be less unpleasant and more bearable over time.
Some of you may ask, what exactly is Lunar New Year? Maybe you have heard about it before, but just aren't clear of its meaning. Lunar New Year is a festival celebrating the beginning of the year in lunar calendar.
As the solar calendar (which is used worldwide today) uses the position of the earth relative to the sun to tell dates, the lunar calendar is based on cycles of the lunar phase. Therefore, dates and months in the two calendars are very different.
The Lunar New Year celebrations are often on different dates of our "normal" calendar each year. Lunar New Year is celebrated in most countries in East and South East Asia. Even though the solar calendar is officially used in those countries, people from these countries still consider the lunar calendar traditionally and ritually important. These cultures continue this valuable tradition because they believe using the lunar calendar is the best way to pay respects to their ancestors.
So, you ask, what do people do during Lunar New Year? It varies depending on where you celebrate it. But in Vietnam, where I am from, people will prepare dishes and fruits and use them to worship the Gods and ancestors in a ceremony known as "Cung Giao Thua" or "New Year's Worship."
After that, the whole family has the last dinner of the old year and spends the rest of the night together. However, some may not stay at home but go out to the main streets in the city to see fireworks.
On the first several days of the New Year, family members wish each other health and happiness, children receive "lucky" money from adults, and people go to temples to pray for success and luck.
The first person to go to a house (or "xong dat") in the New Year is believed to bring fortune or misfortune to the family living there. Therefore, each family often chooses a person beforehand to "xong dat" to make sure they will have great luck next year.
This is the second time I am not home during the New Year festival. It is supposed to be this time of the year when family members gather together regardless of how busy they are.
However, my studies and the long distance between the United States and Vietnam would not allow me to do that. And of course, I feel homesick not being able to see my family during one of the most important festivals of the year.
— Nguyen is a sophomore from Hanoi, Vietnam majoring in economics. opinion@thedepauw.com