Published: Friday, February 4, 2011
Asian-Americans gather to celebrate a traditional Lunar New Year
-
Michael O'Leary / The Herald
Kunhyon Chong and other members of the Korean community gathered Thursday for music and food to celebrate the Lunar New Year at the Multicultural Senior Center in Everett.
-
Michael O’Leary / The Herald
Five Korean women in traditional dress clap and sway to the music at a Lunar New Year celebration held Thursday at the Multicultural Senior Center in Everett.
-
Michael O’Leary / The Herald
Local members of the Korean community, including some in traditional dress, sing at a Lunar New Year celebration Thursday at the Multicultural Senior Center in Everett.
-
Sujuan Chen cooked traditional Chinese food to enjoy with her family on New Year’s Day. A festive meal means good fortune and bounty in the new year.
EVERETT — According to Korean traditional beliefs, we all got one year older Thursday.
That's when Koreans and other Asian-Americans celebrated the first day of the Lunar New Year.
The holiday is based on the lunar calendar, which is calculated differently than the Gregorian calendar used in the Western world.
Rice cake soup, with savory beef broth and thinly sliced rice cakes, is served on New Year's Day in Korean households, said Leslie Park, who works for Senior Services of Snohomish County.
“The traditional belief is, when we eat rice cake soup, we get one year older,” she explained.
Park works with Korean-Americans at the Multicultural Senior Center in south Everett. She was there Thursday during a New Year celebration. About 100 people came to enjoy traditional food, live music, dancing and a singing contest.
Some women and a few men donned the bright, traditional clothing. Jong Soon Yun, of Everett, looked festive in an aquamarine hanbok. She and her husband, Kunhyon Chong, were preparing to participate in the singing contest.
The couple moved from Seoul about eight years ago to live near their daughter, Chong said. This was their third time celebrating the Lunar New Year with other Korean seniors.
“This is a very happy day,” Chong said.
Younger people bow to their elders to show respect. Older relatives give children money as a gift, Park said. In the past, children's outfits had little pouches for this money.
The Korean board game Yutnori is another beloved New Year's tradition. Players take turns tossing four sticks, as you would dice, and moving pieces on the board according to how the sticks land.
In many Chinese-American homes, families gather around the table on New Year's Eve to wish each other a long life and prosperity in the new year, said the Rev. Simon Chou, pastor at the Evangelical Chinese Church of Snohomish County in Lynnwood.
People often decorate the sides of the doors to their homes with special two-line poems, placing a line on each side of the door. The poems carry an uplifting message for the new year. These New Year's poems are a form of duilian, or Chinese couplets.
“As Chinese, we have inherited a culture that is thousands of years old,” Chou said. “Anywhere in the world, wherever we go, we want to keep our traditions alive because they are so rich.”
Sujuan Chen, who is taking English classes at the Edmonds Community College, was busy cooking traditional fish, meat and vegetable dishes on New Year's Eve. A festive meal on New Year's Day means good fortune and a bountiful year.
Her family lit incense sticks and candles in remembrance of their ancestors. In the evening, they watched movies and made dumplings together.
“We call this time ‘keeping night watch,' which lasts until the stroke of midnight,” she said.
Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452; kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
That's when Koreans and other Asian-Americans celebrated the first day of the Lunar New Year.
The holiday is based on the lunar calendar, which is calculated differently than the Gregorian calendar used in the Western world.
Rice cake soup, with savory beef broth and thinly sliced rice cakes, is served on New Year's Day in Korean households, said Leslie Park, who works for Senior Services of Snohomish County.
“The traditional belief is, when we eat rice cake soup, we get one year older,” she explained.
Park works with Korean-Americans at the Multicultural Senior Center in south Everett. She was there Thursday during a New Year celebration. About 100 people came to enjoy traditional food, live music, dancing and a singing contest.
Some women and a few men donned the bright, traditional clothing. Jong Soon Yun, of Everett, looked festive in an aquamarine hanbok. She and her husband, Kunhyon Chong, were preparing to participate in the singing contest.
The couple moved from Seoul about eight years ago to live near their daughter, Chong said. This was their third time celebrating the Lunar New Year with other Korean seniors.
“This is a very happy day,” Chong said.
Younger people bow to their elders to show respect. Older relatives give children money as a gift, Park said. In the past, children's outfits had little pouches for this money.
The Korean board game Yutnori is another beloved New Year's tradition. Players take turns tossing four sticks, as you would dice, and moving pieces on the board according to how the sticks land.
In many Chinese-American homes, families gather around the table on New Year's Eve to wish each other a long life and prosperity in the new year, said the Rev. Simon Chou, pastor at the Evangelical Chinese Church of Snohomish County in Lynnwood.
People often decorate the sides of the doors to their homes with special two-line poems, placing a line on each side of the door. The poems carry an uplifting message for the new year. These New Year's poems are a form of duilian, or Chinese couplets.
“As Chinese, we have inherited a culture that is thousands of years old,” Chou said. “Anywhere in the world, wherever we go, we want to keep our traditions alive because they are so rich.”
Sujuan Chen, who is taking English classes at the Edmonds Community College, was busy cooking traditional fish, meat and vegetable dishes on New Year's Eve. A festive meal on New Year's Day means good fortune and a bountiful year.
Her family lit incense sticks and candles in remembrance of their ancestors. In the evening, they watched movies and made dumplings together.
“We call this time ‘keeping night watch,' which lasts until the stroke of midnight,” she said.
Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452; kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
Comments
(
