How moony -year -old celebrations vary across countries and cultures

On By Littum

The moony tight, or the Chinese New Year, is celebrated globally with projections that estimate that up to one billion people recognize the holiday season every year.
It starts with the other new moon in the lunar calendar, and the festivities can last up to 15 days to the full moon.
While the Gregorian calendar – based on the Earth’s orbit of the Sun – is more commonly used worldwide, lunar calendars mark important festivals in many Asian cultures, with – To be one of the most important.
Although closest to China, the feast is also widely celebrated in countries such as North Korea, South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand and Japan, to name a few.
This year’s date falls on January 29, when 2025 marks the year of the snake in the Chinese zodiac sign.

At SBS we asked some of our colleagues how they mark the occasion.

South Korea

Many Australians are likely to associate the holidays with small red envelopes and lion dancing, but Leah Hyein Na, Executive producer of SBS Korean, said each culture has its own unique traditions.
“For Korean society, red is not a special color to celebrate the moony year,” she said.

“Like when you see our traditional clothes, malebok, we embrace all sorts of different colors – pink, green, blue, even black colors.”

A bowl of rice soup surrounded by a garlic onion, two bags in blue and red and chopsticks placed on a red tablecloth.

Tteokguk is a traditional Korean soup made with rice cakes and broth and is a traditional dish eaten New Year’s Day. Source: Getty / Runphoto

The Korean zodiac sign is associated with certain colors and 2025 is the year of the blue snake.

Food plays a key role in celebrating moony years, where Na explains that people often eat rice soup or ttekguk.

Vietnam

In Vietnam, Trinh Nguyen, a producer for SBS Vietnamese, said that Lunar New Year, or Tết, is a public holiday.
“So pretty much the same with what people in Australia do to celebrate Christmas, we can see moon tights everywhere,” she said.
In southern Vietnam, the yellow May (Ochna) flower in the spring, which coincides with the moony year and symbolizes luck, wealth and happiness.

In the north, pink peach flowers appear as symbols of rebirth and success.

Red lanterns hanging among pink peach flowers.

Pink peach flowers are displayed as symbols of rebirth and prosperity in northern Vietnam. Source: Getty / Vietnam

Nguyen said people tend to eat sour melon soup and pork as well as mango and other fruits.

The shapes of traditional cakes are also different across the country – square in the north and cylindrical in the south.
The Vietnamese zodiac sign also includes a cat instead of a rabbit and a buffalo instead of an beef.

“Down to the details it will be different. But the spirit, the atmosphere, the way we celebrate, they are the same,” said Nguyen.

Hong Kong

In large parts of Hong Kong, the apartment is characterized by a week -long holiday with great celebrations in Victoria Park, while families enjoy parties with abalone (sea or sheep fish), chicken and other seafood dishes.
Ivan Leung, producer for SBS Cantonese, said it’s a busy time of year.
“It’s Christmas on steroids,” he said.

“I have four uncles, so that means I have to visit them one by one by one, so it already means four nights with different meals.”

Professor Xiaohuan Zhao, a sinologist from Sydney University, specializing in traditional Chinese literature and theater, said many Lunar New Year dishes are symbolic.
For example, on the Chinese mainland, it is hoped that dumplings, shaped like traditional Chinese money, can bring wealth and wealth.
“One of the most important parts of the celebration is the family reunification dinner,” he said.

Other traditions include lighting fireworks and giving money from older to younger family members before the festivities end with the lantern festival.

Festivities in South Asia

Further to the south, Buddhist societies in Nepal, India, Bhutan and Tibet also celebrate the moony year.

Known as Lhosar, different communities mark the festivities based on different lunar calendars, although the festivities often coincide with those in East Asia.

A group of people in traditional attire are gathered, some sit and play drums while others stand and dance while people watch.

Lhosar is a festival celebrated by the Buddhist communities in Nepal, with people from India, Bhutan and Tibet, including the Gurung, Tamang and Sherpa communities. Source: AAP / Prabin Ranabhat

The communities include the Gurung community, which marks Tamu Lhosar; The Tamang Society, which marks Sonam Lhosar; And the Sherpa community that marks Gyalpo Lhosar.

Similar to East Asia, every year in these communities is represented by a zodiac sign animal, although the animals may vary slightly, including the cow, the cat, the eagle and the deer.
Dil Tamang, one of the founding members of the Tamang Society of Sydney – NSW, said in his community that Lhosar parties usually begin with a cleansing before friends and family gather to enjoy traditional music and dance and share a meal, including a Popular deep-fried pastry called khapse.
“Only in the morning do we make sure that our house is clean and makes sure that every corner of the house is upset.
“Then we put flags around the house, cultivate some worship, make some songs and honor our ancestors.”

For those in Australia, preparations are in full swing, and Sydney’s festivities are considered to be among the biggest outside Asia.