Lunar New Year marks the start of 2024 for Asian communities in the Valley
IMPERIAL VALLEY — Starting the 2024 lunar cycle with the new moon on Friday, February 9, today marks the New Year for many Asian communities.
The celebration lasts 15 days starting in 2024 on Saturday, February 10 and ends with the Lantern Festival on Feb. 24. The Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year is celebrated among Chinese, Korean, Japanese and many other Asians.
Due to its lunar orientation, the celebration differs significantly from the beginning of the Gregorian calendar, which uses a solar calendar and is used throughout most of the Western world.
As a tradition, each lunar year represents a different animal based on the Chinese zodiac, which is a recurring 12year cycle of animal signs and their characteristics based on the lunar new year.
This year, the dragon represents 2024, meaning that the year will be strong and auspicious.
“People say they’re charismatic, ambitious, adventurous and fearless,” Alex Lee, the head instructor at the Calexico Martial Arts Academy, said. “They have confidence, independence and patience, and are not afraid to pursue their dreams and goals. They are also very loyal.”
“It ought to be good for Chinese people,” Li-Rong “Lilly” Cheng, director of the Chinese Cultural Center at SDSU, said.
“The Chinese people say all of the Chinese people are the seed or the baby of the dragon,” Cheng shared. “So we are all ‘ little dragons.’”
Among the many elements as dressing up in red and golden, distributing red envelopes and making a delicious feast, the Lion Dance is one of the most popular parts of celebrating this holiday.
In the Imperial Valley, the Calexico Martial Arts Academy will be performing the Lion Dance in many restaurants such as Lucky Chinese Restaurant in El Centro on Sunday, February 10 at 2 p.m. and at the Chinese New Year in Calexico on Friday, February 16.
“The symbolism behind the Lion Dance is to bring good luck, fortune, health and prosperity to all,” Lee said. “It brings joy and happiness everywhere.”
“There are no lions in China,” Cheng said, “but they know about lions from Africa.”
Cheng explained that lions are very special animals and the lion performers dance to get rid of “the monster,” who is identified as the negativity.
“The lions are very auspicious,” she said. “They help us get rid of the monsters and bring good luck by beating drums and by dancing around.”
Described by Lee as a very dynamic and charismatic dance, it is believed that it will bring positivity to the upcoming year. Many restaurants, businesses, and people celebrating special dates request Calexico Martial Arts Academy to do the Lion Dance.
Along with the dance that brings good luck and abundance, there’s an indispensable element — the red envelopes. In this envelope, people put money and give it to the lions to get the money multiplied in their lives. It’s also common to distribute these envelopes to family members, friends and loved ones during this time of the year.
“It says that (the money in the envelope) brings you luck ten times greater than the amount of money you put in the envelope,” Lee said.
Chinese New Year to ring in Calexico
As a first-time event, The City of Calexico is putting together an exciting event to celebrate the Lunar New Year for the community of Imperial Valley at Carmen Durazo Cultural Arts Center on Friday, February 16 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
“We’re so excited to have this event because Mexicali is a city that was originally made up of a large population of Asians when they came in in the early 1900s to work on the railroad,” Calexico City Manager Esperanza Colio said. “Celebrating the Chinese year is honoring the fact that we are a border city next to a city, that it’s very connected to the Asian community.”
Mayor Gloria Romo proposed honoring the Chinese community in Calexico for the upcoming 2024 Chinese New Year celebration. She managed to bring to the city of Calexico the international work of Professor Eduardo Auyón Gerardo known as Celestial Horses.
“The idea is to coexist and celebrate such an important event for the Asian community,” the event report states.
“This is a very old Chinese tradition,” Lee said. “Since our Chinese community is very big in the Calexico area there are about 500 families, we have quite about 2% of the population in Calexico is really important to celebrate this holiday for us.”
During the event, paintings of Master Auyon and his son Manuel Auyon will be available at the Calexico Arts Center.
This event is free to the public and it will offer snacks and drinks for attendees. The cost to bring this event to the city of Calexico has been minimal as the city has the collaboration of the Binational Organization of the Californias, the Calexico Arts Council and businessman Louie Wong.
In the upcoming fiscal year, this event will be included to continue honoring the Asian community in the next years, the report reads.
“It is important to recognize the Chinese and Chinese Mexican contributions in our area,” Cheng said. “We should all work together and celebrate the year coming up and be very thankful to have peace in our area.”
For more information about the Chinese New Year event call Calexico Recreation Department at 760-357-5575 or 760357-5575.