2023 Lunar New Year Celebration

Description

Lunar New Year is the most significant celebration of the year in many cultures across Asia and is celebrated by millions of people all over the world. It is a time for gathering with family and welcoming in Spring. This year the Town of Arlington will celebrate the Lunar New Year on February 2nd at the Robbins Memorial Town Hall Auditorium from 4:30pm -6:30pm. The event will feature traditional celebrations from across Asia, Chinese singing and dancing, and lucky draws. The event is free and open to all, food will be available for purchase from local Arlington restaurants.

There is a lot to learn about the Lunar New Year! Did you know that in Vietnam the Lunar New Year is called Tet & the zodiac symbol is a cat, not a rabbit? In Korea the holiday is called Seollal and it is customary to hide your shoes lest a ghost steals them and curses you with bad luck! Tibet keeps its own lunar calendar, sometimes Losar (Tibetan New Year) is the same as the Chinese New Year, sometimes (like this year) it’s a whole month later. According to a Chinese legend, the reason why the celebration features fireworks, firecrackers and red clothing and decorations is that thousands of years ago a monster named Nian would attack villagers at the beginning of the new year. Nian was terrified of bright lights, loud noises and the color red, so the villagers used those things to chase him away! In the Malay peninsula version of the 12-year animal cycle, the Rabbit is replaced with the Mousedeer (Pelanduk).

This celebration is open to all and is hosted by the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Division, Enhance Asian Community On Health (EACH) and the Arlington Human Rights Commission.