Come January, in Chinese restaurants and other locations, you may notice red envelopes stuffed with money being passed about, plates of oranges and red dates (believed to bring good luck) and lanterns shaped as snakes (this year’s animal in the Chinese zodiac). These are some of the common emblems of Lunar New Year, a celebration believed to have originated some 3,000 years ago, which marks the beginning of a new year in the Chinese calendar.
The holiday (also known as Spring Festival in China) this year takes place on January 29 and is celebrated across the world, usually for up to two weeks. For these four creatives who were born or have roots in greater China, the Lunar New Year is one way to maintain a connection to their heritage. Here they share their favourite activities, meals and customs to usher in prosperity and good fortune.
Robert Wun, fashion designer
“It’s pretty much like Christmas,” says Robert Wun of the Lunar New Year holiday. “Except it’s longer than one day, and it’s less about religion and more about tradition.” Each of the 15 days during the holiday period have different requirements, he explains, whether it is eating vegetarian dishes (believed to help purify and cleanse the body) or visiting temples to pay respects to certain gods. The latter is harder to do in London, where Wun, who was born and raised in Hong Kong, has resided for the last 17 years. It’s here that he runs his eponymous couture label.
“It’s very rare for me to go back home because Lunar New Year often overlaps with fashion week and we are busy making a new collection,” says Wun. “I’ve ended up having a little community here in London with people from the same culture, so we usually have dinner together.” That could involve hot pot (savoury broth with a platter of meats and vegetables to be communally cooked) at home, or dim sum at Royal China on Baker Street, where he usually orders steamed rice noodle rolls and a Cantonese-style steamed sponge cake (the latter is a favourite of Wun’s grandma). “We share everything — that’s the whole point,” he says.
On what to wear, Wun recommends: “Nothing that seems shabby.” That includes distressed clothing, even if the style is intentional. He also advises not to carry books around in a bag — something he was often told off for, as a child, when he loved reading comic books. “The word, book, in Chinese sounds similar to the word, losing,” he explains. Opt for colours like red or purple, because they indicate celebration and success, Wun says. They don’t have to be visible, either. “Many friends wear red underwear.”
Patricia Zhou, ballet dancer
“I’m a rooster and 100 per cent believe it,” says Patricia Zhou of her Chinese zodiac animal and the traits associated with it. “I’ve read that roosters are meant to be good at focusing on one thing and I do excel at menial tasks. I’m a ballet dancer and I’m always doing the same thing, over and over and over again.”
Zhou, whose mother is from Beijing and father from Changsha, grew up near Windsor in Ontario, Canada. Today, she lives in London. Her childhood recollections of Lunar New Year are hazy, but she says that “as I’ve gotten older, I have more memories of celebrating, because it’s a way to connect to my heritage and learn more about my culture.”
This year, she plans to follow tradition and wear red. “When I was in Shanghai this summer I went to Suzhou and there were a lot of traditional dresses. I tried one on and absolutely loved it. I have it now and think I may wear it for Lunar New Year. It is like a long kilt with corsetry that wraps around the waist and there are beautiful ornaments on the front and back.”
Zhou’s favourite thing to eat during the holiday is tang yuan (chewy glutinous rice balls) filled with a sweet sesame paste and served with hot soup. Shrimp, she says, is also on the menu: “The word in Chinese sounds like ‘ha’, which I guess is supposed to sound like laughter, and during the holidays you’re meant to have a lot of that.” But there’s no need to stick too closely to tradition, she notes. “Chinese rice wine is intense. Lately I’ve really gotten into sake, so I plan to have a few friends over and have a sake-tasting with some Chinese food.”
Mimi Xu, music director and DJ
Food is what makes Lunar New Year special for Beijing-born Mimi Xu, who moved to Paris at the age of three with her French-Chinese father and Hong Kong mother. “Chinese tradition is all about eating, isn’t it? It’s huge in France too. Unlike America, where people sometimes have lunch on the go, here we have a proper two- or three-course meal — and with wine!” says Xu, who currently lives in London. “Food is a big part of my life and Lunar New Year is a good opportunity to eat more and host friends.”
Xu typically spends the holiday in Paris with her mother. Sometimes, she’ll burn some incense at home and say a prayer. “Lunar New Year is quite spiritual and is a time to reflect.” But this year will be different. As the composer of the musical score for Luz, one of the movies nominated in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition category at the Sundance Film Festival, she will be in Salt Lake City, Utah. “The director and producer is from Hong Kong, and there are a lot of Hong Kong or Taiwanese actors [in the film],” she says, so even while abroad, “I’m sure we’ll celebrate big time.”
On her return, Xu would like to prepare a Chinese meal at home for friends. Among her key dishes for the holiday are roast duck, steamed turbot with ginger and spring onion, and Chinese broccoli with garlic. “During lockdown I perfected Hainanese chicken rice — the chicken and rice are both cooked with chicken fat, and I do a ginger sauce on the side,” she says. “It’s not the most traditional but it feels festive,” in part because “making it is a long process.”
Blake Abbie, actor and magazine editor
Born in Montreal to a Scottish father and Chinese mother, Blake Abbie remembers having to navigate cultural differences as a child. “One of my earliest memories of Lunar New Year is being sent to my relatives and told to bow and ask for hong bao,” he says, referring to red envelopes containing money, typically given as a gift by married couples during holidays and special occasions. “Being mixed race, there were moments when I felt awkward and maybe not so confident doing it, especially with my dad’s family — even though they were incredibly open and respectful.” He adds: “To have two parents who are very engaged in each other’s cultures is a massive privilege.”
Abbie, who now lives in New York, follows the Chinese tradition of not cleaning his hair, clothes or home on the first day of the new Lunar year as those actions could remove one’s good fortune. That means “no taking out the garbage” either, he says. Wearing white should be avoided, he advises, as it’s a colour sometimes worn to Chinese funerals. White flowers or yellow chrysanthemums are not recommended either as they are associated with death and mourning.
For the food, Abbie recalls: “When I was a kid, we’d have at least eight different dishes. My grandma would make fatty braised pork belly in a clay pot with salted mustard greens” — a speciality dish from Hangzhou where his mother is from. “I don’t eat meat any more but that flavour remains a core memory in my mind.” He also remembers his family serving a whole fish, with the head and tail served intact to represent a positive beginning and end to the year. Ultimately, he says, “it’s about gathering and spending time together. The best part of Lunar New Year now is that so many of my friends [around the world] want to celebrate it.”
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