A Chinese friend at work was surprised when I told her Happy New Year today.
A local Chinese grocery did the big dragon puppet thing and a Chinese friend went down there to celebrate.
Do you know people who celebrate it?
Sure. As a matter of fact, Mrs. SMV and I have just returned from our friend’s annual Chinese New Year party. We’re all as white as a Minnesota snowstorm, but our friend’s adopted son is Chinese; so she uses the holiday as an excuse for all of us to get together to make, and then consume, dinner. Spent about an hour this afternoon making dumplings.
It’s a good time to pick up those gold coin candies.
Dennis
We do. Not in a big way, and especially as my soon-to-be-ex-wife is in Shanghai. But we always at least have a big Chinese dinner.
Actually, the big family meal and celebration should be on New Year’s eve and New Year’s day is for more extended family.
A couple of teachers and I thought my youngest was running a fever. So, spent much of new year’s eve in the children’s hospital urgent care. Our nurse was originally from Taiwan, so we joked in Mandarin about not doing the big meal last night.
Made a big ol’ hot pot tonight.
All that said, in the US, CNY tends to be low key. Most folks have to work, so typically it’s a special family meal (example, we might roast a duck and/or steam a fish with other more “special” dishes) and not a major event.
It was always an occasion in Indonesia; here in Hawaii I was only wished “happy new year” once, but it made sense to me when it happened.
Of course we do it.
I live in Bendigo, which has had a strong Chinese presence since the gold rush. We have the Golden Dragon Museum, multiple lion dance teams, so many dragons (Loong, Sun Loong, Dai Gum Loong, Ming and Ping Loong, Gansu Loong, Yar Loong, Siu Lock Loong, Choi Loong and Gwong Loong…you get the idea).
So yeah, go out to dinner at most local Chinese places around lunar new year and you’ve got good odds of hitting an event. Lion dance team, big drums, feed the lions as they dance, red envelopes, the whole things. Lots of fun.
Personally, I never have.
However, two years ago, we got two new pastors at our Methodist church – both of them were born in Korea, and emigrated to the U.S. as kids; one of them worked in his family’s Korean restaurant after emigrating.
The pastors have led a Lunar New Year party at the church for the past two years, which is primarily oriented for the kids in the congregation – they make and eat dumplings, and play some traditional Korean games. (This year’s event was held yesterday.)
Now, when those pastors leave the parish (UMC ministers usually are assigned to new churches every 3-5 years or so), I would suspect that the Lunar New Year celebration will leave with them.
Chinese wife, but her family is in China and we’re not, so we do an abbreviated thing. On Friday we invited another couple and their daughter, and had a pretty large meal and some wine. Kids did the red envelope, although mine is too young to understand it.
Yes! Just came back from my sister-in-law and brother-in-law’s place. She is Chinese, married him about 6 years ago and moved here. We had a very nice traditional dinner (she says it is traditional more in her family and perhaps her town rather than all the country) including various dishes with names and meanings (good luck in the year, growth in the year, importance of family, financial success in the year…). The food was good, a little more gingery than I like and I’m not a big seafood fan (we had both shrimp and squid), but she did a nice job.
She also gave my three-year-old grandson a beautiful outfit with a dragon on the front, clearly Chinese in origin and in fact sold in and imported from China. It’s very big on him so he will probably be able to wear it till he is about six. I suspect we will limit him to wearing it around her, because having a little blond kid out in public in Chinese clothing smacks of cultural appropriation. Is it cultural appropriation if it is a gift from a person of that culture with the expectation that it will be worn? Hmmm…
I bought them a very nice bouquet that actually was marked “Chinese New Year Bouquet.” Orange and reds and yellows.
So, yes, we did!
I don’t do it per se, but we did get a package which included a hotel room and a seat on a bridge over the street where the San Francisco Chinese New Year’s parade goes. It was great.
When I worked with a fab in Taiwan we had to work around all the engineers being off around now.
Dinner with the in-laws. Red packets for the kids. One of the boys is out lion-dancing. Some spring-cleaning (in summer) leading up to the day. And not doing any business with China this week.
I had Spaghetti for dinner. Does that count?
IMHO you’re over thinking the cultural appropriation thing. Based on my experience, Chinese folks will find it cute. Secondly, he got it from his Chinese Auntie, and how is it a bad thing to not wear her present?
There’s usually plenty of celebration happening in the city center - we haven’t been often, but we went down to the river this year. It was very Aussie-Chinese-fusion - there were kind of official booths with Chinese cultural things going on - one showing off traditional musical instruments, a lady singing opera, some art - and then the buskers that just do shows generally - a kid playing the piano, a juggling dude. And because the Australian Open is on right now, restaurants with tennis racket decorations 
I didn’t see any fireworks or firecrackers this year though. Last year the city center was pretty much papered in red by late evening
Yes! My wife is from China, and her parents also live with us. We spend the afternoon cooking and do a big family banquet, and give the kids red envelopes. The big local Asian markets often put on events and we often go, but we didn’t this year.
I agree, it’ll be fine.
Had some mediocre Chinese takeout on Saturday, and went to the Smithsonian’s Asian art museum on Sunday for some fun events and much better food. DC’s new year parade is pretty lame, so I typically pass on that.
As a third generation American-born Chinese-American, nope. Most of our ethnic cultural stuff died with grandma 30 years ago. One of my aunts sends me a “Happy Chinese New Year!” email, and very rarely we go out to dinner or something, but otherwise it typically passes unacknowledged.
I mostly just go to a Chinese restaurant and eat fish and dumplings. A friend of mine usually gives me gifts of oranges and gold wrapped chocolates.
So… kinda?
I find it interesting that those big dragons they show performing in the streets with multiple performers doing the dragon, are done by dance troupes who actually hold competitions.