In 2025, Chinese New Year will mark the beginning of the Year of the Snake. The exact date for the Chinese New Year in 2025 is January 29th.  The origin of Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, dates back more than 4,000 years and is steeped in legend and tradition. One popular legend is the story of “Nian,” a mythical beast that would come on the eve of the new year to attack villagers. The villagers discovered that Nian was afraid of loud noises, bright lights, and the color red. To scare away the beast, the villagers used firecrackers, red lanterns, and red couplets around the doors, which eventually became traditions of the Chinese New Year celebration.

The festival marks the beginning of the lunar new year, based on the lunar calendar. Each year in the Chinese zodiac is associated with an animal sign in a 12-year cycle, and the Year of the Snake is one of these animal signs.

Chinese New Year was initially tied to agricultural practices, celebrating the end of winter and the beginning of spring, and it evolved to include various cultural and religious traditions.  2025 is the year 4722 according to the Chinese calendar.

Chinese New Year is like Thanksgiving in the US, a time for the entire family to get together, no matter how far we have to travel to get back. It was a rare occasion when uncles, aunts, and cousins, who lived far and wide, would come together. The house was filled with laughter, chatter, and the aroma of a feast being prepared. The New Year’s dinner’s main dish is dumplings, symbolizing wealth and prosperity. Each dumpling was crafted with care, and sometimes, a coin was hidden inside one of them for good luck.

In my household, our family takes a rather modest approach to celebrating the Chinese New Year: wrapping dumplings and eating traditional foods like niangao and tangyuan. Of course, my favorite part is always receiving red envelopes filled with cash from my grandparents.

When I attended the Fullerton Chinese School from age 5 to 14, I immensely looked forward to the Chinese New Year celebrations. Typically, the entire school collectively took a break from classes and would gather in the quad to celebrate. We would watch dance performances from different grade levels, eat fried rice and egg rolls provided by my friends’ parents, and sometimes even witness a calligraphy demonstration (the most memorable part of that year was when ink spilled over the half-finished banner). A few times, I even personally took part in performances, including an embarrassingly poor dance performance in my last year involving red banners and flags that neither I nor my classmates had enough experience with. In other words, I found Chinese New Year to be a time of great festivity and fervor.

Yet the Chinese New Year is, at its heart, a celebration of family and a time of reunion. Sure, it’s most commonly associated with loud firecrackers and lion dances, festive music, and elaborate performances. But sometimes, spending time with just your family, laughing and bonding over the dinner table is perfectly enough. And to me, that is what the Chinese New Year represents. It’s not just an event; it’s a time of family reunions and a time to remember our cultural roots.

2025年，农历新年将迎来蛇年的开始。 2025年农历新年的确切日期是1月29日。  中国新年（又称春节或农历新年）的起源可以追溯到 4000 多年前，有着悠久的传说和传统。一个流行的传说是“年”的故事，一种神兽会在除夕夜袭击村民。村民们发现，年害怕大声喧哗、明亮灯光和红色。为了吓走野兽，村民们放鞭炮、放红灯笼、在门上贴红春联，这最终成为了庆祝新年的传统。

这个节日标志着农历新年的开始。十二生肖中的每一年都与一个生肖相关，以十二年为一个周期，蛇年就是其中之一。

中国新年最初与农业习俗联系在一起，庆祝冬天的结束和春天的开始，随着时间的推移，它演变为包括各种文化和宗教传统。  2025年是农历4722年。

中国的新年就像美国的感恩节，是全家人团聚的时刻，无论我们要走多远才能回来。远隔千里的叔叔、阿姨、表兄弟姐妹能聚在一起，这真是难得的机会。屋子里充满了欢声笑语，充满了正在准备的盛宴的香气。年夜饭的主菜是饺子，象征着财富和繁荣。每个饺子都经过精心制作，有时还会在其中藏一枚硬币以求吉祥。

在我家，我们一家人庆祝农历新年的方式相当朴素：包饺子，吃年糕和汤圆等传统食物。当然，我最喜欢的还是收到祖父母寄来的装满现金的红包。

当我从5岁到14岁就读富勒顿中文学校时，我非常期待中国新年的庆祝活动。通常情况下，全校都会集体放假，聚集在操场庆祝。我们会看不同年级的舞蹈表演，吃同学父母提供的炒饭和蛋卷，有时还会观看书法表演（那一年最难忘的就是墨水洒在半成品的横幅上）。有几次，我甚至亲自参加了表演，包括一场舞蹈表演，其中涉及红旗、横幅，我和我的同学都没有足够的经验，表演得非常糟糕。换句话说，我发现农历新年是一个充满喜庆和热情的时刻。