Lunar New Year’s Lantern Festival teaches the value of family

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Athena Tseng

As Lunar New Year celebrations come to an end, the Lantern Festival closes out the celebrations. The lantern reads “wishing for fortune, happiness, and wellbeing” which encompasses the purpose of the festival.

Athena Tseng, Staff Reporter

Lunar New Year celebrations come to an end on Friday with the Lantern Festival being observed by many Asian students on campus.

“Lantern Festival ends everything that my family does for Lunar New Year,” sophomore Sherry Hu said. “It’s kind of a sad and happy time, kind of bittersweet.”

One tradition of the Lantern Festival involves people walking around with lanterns and solving riddles, but the day is about more than this. 

“There are many traditions within this holiday,” sophomore Kathryn Hung said. “My favorite is eating Tangyuan which are these rice balls that are filled with sesame paste and it has the meaning of bringing family together and bring them happiness and luck.”

Many Asian countries celebrate the Lantern Festival with different traditions and norms for each country.

“In Korea, we eat a traditional Korean rice cake stew called Tteokguk that symbolizes you aging one year after eating,” sophomore Brian Bahk said. “We also bow to our elders saying Happy New Year in Korean.”

Regardless of the culture, the day often revolves around family and the importance of family. 

“My favorite part of Lantern New Year is meeting up with my family to celebrate,” Bahk said. “This is important because it is a way for us to get together as a family when we would usually not see each other for long periods of time to wish each other luck and success for the next year.”