This Sunday is Chinese New Year. It’s also known as Lunar New Year and is observed by many cultures throughout Asia.
The House of China in Balboa Park will be hosting a Chinese New Year festival Saturday and Sunday to celebrate the new year.
House of China executive director David Seid joined KPBS' San Diego News Now podcast host Debbie Cruz to talk about the celebration and Chinese New Year traditions.
The following has been lightly edited for clarity and conciseness.
Chinese New Year falls on a different date every year instead of Jan. 1. Why is that?
Seid: The Chinese follow the lunar calendar. And that is the reason why the date changes year to year to year.
Why not the solar calendar?
Seid: I guess the ancients could see the moon more easily rather than staring at this bright object in the sky. So that is my belief of why they chose a lunar calendar rather than a solar calendar.
With the Solar New Year, there are certain customs and traditions, for example: the sweeping of the chimney and the kiss at midnight. What are some of the traditions that are unique to the Chinese New Year outside of the actual celebrations?
Seid: Well, of course, we have firecrackers and lion dance. The origin of that is in ancient China, there was a fierce beast who had the head of a lion and the body of a cow, and of course, in the hinterland, that beast could feed on the wild animals but in wintertime just before springtime there was a lack of food so the animal would raid the villages and that caused such havoc. But some clever people noticed that the animal was scared of loud sounds as well as the color red. So because of that fear by the animal, that is why the Chinese beat the drums, beat the gongs to scare away evil spirits. And the red color is now a festive color used in all kinds of decoration. So that's one of the big things about Chinese New Year, is to have a lion dance.
Chinese have a lot of customs that are great fun. For instance, one thing is to buy new clothes and to wear new clothes. So I think everyone appreciates having new clothes. Another thing is sweeping the house. It should be done in advance of Chinese New Year — not on Chinese New Year's Day, lest, by mistake, you sweep out good luck.
There's significance to the color red for the Chinese New Year. How is it used in the celebrations?
Seid: There are things called "hóngbāo" (紅包), which is literally "red pocket" or "red envelopes." So the adults who are married will present these "hóngbāo" envelopes to the little children.
For the people that come to Balboa Park International Cottages on Jan. 21, we have a lion dance group at our 11 a.m. opening as well as a 2 p.m. show that's also repeated on Sunday. The House of China queen and princesses will pass out red envelopes. Our guests are invited to put money into the envelope to feed the lion to bring themselves good luck.
This year is the Year of the Rabbit. What meaning does the rabbit have for the new year?
Seid: The rabbit is considered to be the luckiest of all 12 animals, and some of the characteristics of a rabbit person is that they are modest. They tend to be calm and, of course, calm people are very easygoing and are great company.
If you're a rabbit, you have some artistic characteristics and you have very good taste in life for things.
What can people expect at the festival?
Seid: We have half a dozen food vendors, from pastries to Filipino food, Chinese food like the baos, the dumplings — a lot of tasty snacks.
We also have original artisans who have crafted art, cards and jewelry. We have some information booths. If people would like to have their names written in Chinese characters as souvenirs, we'll have several skilled craftspersons. We are also doing a $5 ticket raffle for a grand prize of $1,000. That drawing will be the following week. It's just some way of helping to cover some expenses.
Of course presentation of the program is free to the public, and it's our gift to the public to meet our mission of presenting, preserving and promoting Chinese culture and friendship.
For more on all the Lunar New Year celebrations around town, visit the KPBS events calendar.