Lunar New Year: How our families celebrate the Year of the Ox
Friday, Feb. 12, marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year in 2021. This year is the Year of the Ox.
"The ox is supposed to be a symbol of wealth and prosperity, but it also reflects diligence and perseverance," explained reporter David Louie of KGO in San Francisco, California.
We asked members of the ABC Owned Television Stations how they celebrate with their families.
"It's a time to reunite with family and wish each other good fortune in the coming year," shared Linda Ha, the Race and Culture reporter at KFSN in Fresno, California.
The holiday is celebrated by an estimated 1.5 billion people across several Asian countries and their diasporas here in the United States. While each culture has its own unique traditions, there are common threads that run through them all.
Reporter Jaclyn Lee of WPVI in Philadelphia talked about the importance of storytelling in her Chinese-American family: "The biggest thing with families that come from immigrants is you want to pass on those stories to the future generations so they're not lost over time."
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced communities to reinvent public celebrations and shift how loved ones gather, but tradition and love are stronger than any pandemic.
