In the center of Montgomery Mall, traditional Chinese dance music fills the air. Red lanterns and two large banners with Chinese calligraphy hang from the ceiling as dancers perform a traditional Chinese fan dance on the stage. When the music ends, cheers and applause ring out from the crowd as the performers bow.
Lunar New Year marks the beginning of the year on the lunisolar calendar. Across many Asian communities, about two billion people worldwide celebrate this day as the arrival of spring and the new year. In alignment with the lunar calendar, the Chinese Zodiac has 12 animals, with 2025 being the Year of the Snake. The Lunar New Year typically occurs in late January or early February and fell on Jan. 29 this year.
The Chinese Club hosted a Lunar New Year celebration in the commons, Feb. 7. The event included traditional Chinese music, crafts, snacks and food for Whitman students. Chinese Club President Yuen Cao said it took three months of planning and required funding coordination with the Chinese embassy.
The event allowed students to try Chinese calligraphy and fold paper cranes. Freshman Rissy Huang, who used black ink and calligraphy pens, sat behind the arts and crafts table and showed Whitman students how to write Chinese characters.
“I started calligraphy when I was six years old,” Huang said. “I went to a class and learned there for nine years, and then I moved here, so I haven’t practiced for months, but I still have it.”
The Chinese Club also brought many traditional foods for students to try, including pork and corn dumplings, beef fried dumplings, chive and egg dumplings, black sesame sweet dumplings and red bean rice cake. Cao values the Lunar New Year as an opportunity to spend more time with friends and family.
“I grew up in China, and we don’t really have breaks usually,” Cao said. “For Chinese New Year, we get a month of break. So it’s really fun, and I’m able to go see my family from other parts of China, so it’s very important to me.”
During the Lunar New Year, families hold many traditions. On New Year’s Eve, families gather to eat dinner together. Elders often give “Hong Bao” — red envelopes filled with money — to children. Kids place the Hong Bao under their pillows to bring good fortune for the new year. Cao stated she misses the fireworks, a tradition that follows New Year’s Day.
“It’s such a big memory for me because usually, for Chinese New Year, I go back to my hometown,” she said. “I usually set off fireworks with my grandparents and my cousin. I really miss that tradition.”
Many other events in the DMV area celebrated the Lunar New Year as well. The Smithsonian American Art Museum held a celebration in partnership with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the Korean Cultural Center, Feb. 1. The event highlighted traditional performances, arts and crafts and food.
One day later, the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association hosted its annual D.C. Lunar New Year Parade. Thousands of people gathered to celebrate the new year with cultural performances, lion dances and a firecracker display.
The Chinese Culture and Community Service Center (CCACC) organized and hosted three events between Westfield Montgomery Mall and Westfield Wheaton Mall. CCACC is a local non-profit organization committed to serving, strengthening and celebrating the Chinese American community.
The CCACC has held Lunar New Year Celebrations since 1997. This year, the first event was on Jan. 25 at Montgomery Mall, the second on Feb. 1 at Wheaton Mall and the final on Feb. 8 back at Montgomery Mall.
The CCACC’s last Lunar Celebration event, which ran from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., spotlighted the Lantern Festival. This traditional festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the new year, marks the end of the holiday’s traditional celebrations.
The event showcased different types of performances, including martial arts, traditional dances and Chinese yo-yo, in the center of the mall. Along with the performances, many booths offered fun activities, including Chinese calligraphy, arts and crafts and table tennis. Towards the end of the event, a group of children performed a small lion dance, a popular form of traditional dance in Chinese culture that symbolizes good luck and fortune.
Shaolin Temple Kung Fu, a kung fu cultural center in Rockville, Maryland, performed at the event. Shaolin Temple Kung Fu has performed at the CCACC’s Lunar New Year Celebration since their founding in 2013. Master Shi Yanruan, a 34th-generation Shaolin Temple warrior monk, said he was excited to have the opportunity to showcase what his students have been working on. Preparations for the event took about three months, Yanruan said.
“My team is very happy, I’m very happy, it was a good performance,” Yanruan said.
Thirty-five different groups performed at the event, and showcases included a Qipao fashion show by the DMV Qipao Fashion Dance Group and a Yangge dance by the Northeastern Chinese Association.
CCACC Event Volunteer Lei Lei Fang ran a booth for the organization, educating others about the Lunar New Year. Fang said families have another tradition: hanging up “Fai Chun” — a traditional doorway decoration — to celebrate the new year.
“People like to write ‘Chuan,’ meaning Spring and ‘Fu,’ meaning luck,” Fang said. “These two words you can see a lot during the Chinese New Year time. But they hang them upside down because that means Spring is coming.”
Freshman Ann Zhang managed the Montgomery Mall event, ensuring all the performers were in their proper places and on stage at the correct times.
CCACC Event Organizer Liu Fan Li said she was happy to get an opportunity to spread cultural awareness to others in the community.
“We emphasize the spirit of volunteers,” Li said. “If we don’t have this event here, a lot of people don’t know what New Years means, right? So we can do little things, but gradually, it has a lot of effect in the community.”
