Lunar New Year is a beloved holiday celebrated around the world, and Portland is no exception. Portland’s Chinatown was once the second largest in the United States, runner-up to only San Francisco.
Lunar New Year celebrations in Portland remain vibrant. Tickets for lantern viewings at the Lan Su Chinese Garden sell out in minutes each year. Various locations host lion dances and other performances. The streets of Chinatown are dotted with bright red lanterns, welcoming in luck for the new year. Store fronts are adorned with banners and other decorations, making the Portland spring a bit less gray. Communities, family and friends gather to celebrate and share meals during the 15-day period.
This year, Lunar New Year spanned from February 1-15 and welcomed in the Year of the Tiger. Grant Magazine spoke to students about their family traditions celebrating Lunar New Year.
Lana Borrillo
Junior
She/her/hers
“My family and I will go down to California where my Vietnamese family lives and then we’ll have Vietnamese food. We all get together at one person’s house. In my family, we throw coins. The oldest person throws coins and the little kids go around and grab those. And then we pass out money … If you’re married, you pass out money to the unmarried. And we line up youngest to oldest, and then we pass it out and say ‘Happy New Year’ to each person who comes by… We use those coins to play a Vietnamese gambling game and eat tons of amazing food.”
Malina Yuen
Sophomore
She/her/hers
“Every Lunar New Year I have dinner with all my family and friends who also celebrate and we eat traditional foods, and just have a good time. My family and I hang up red paper lanterns and we put a sign on our door to welcome in good luck for the new year … I think that a good reason to celebrate the holiday is the time you get to spend with your family and the fact that it’s Chinese New Year, so it’s a whole new year and you get to refresh, and sort of start with a clean slate, and I think that’s a good ideology to have. My favorite food from Chinese New Year is probably lucky candies.”
Maya Lum
Sophomore
She/her/hers
“Usually every year we get together as a family and cook homemade meals, (such as) chow mein …. I think the fact that everyone is together as a family is the main part of (the Lunar New Year). That’s what’s important.”
Anonymous
“(I prepare) food with my family, dumplings from scratch, steamed fish, rice cakes, etc. At midnight we go to the Temple to pray and also watch the lion dance.”
