I remember my mother making dukguk (sliced rice cake soup) and an assortment of sweet rice cakes for Seollal (Korean New Year) every year. She would spend days preparing large batches of different rice cakes, which my sister and I would quickly gobble up.

She always made extra so she could share them with nearby friends. Some years, we even helped her make them, and those moments remain cherished memories of our loving mom.

In Korea, Seollal is a major three-day celebration, with rich rituals and customs practiced for more than 2,000 years. Families gather from afar, many businesses shutter, and cultural events unfold across the country. It is a festive time filled with traditional games and music.

Many families observe charye, an ancestral memorial ritual honoring loved ones who have passed by preparing special foods and arranging them on a table with family photos. The practice is deeply shaped by Confucian traditions. There is also the tradition of saebae, in which children show respect to parents and elders by bowing deeply and wishing them a wonderful new year. In return, elders give cash gifts along with words of wisdom.

Families come together to eat dukguk, which symbolizes a pure, fresh beginning and wishes for long life, wealth, good luck, and prosperity in the year ahead. Eating it also signifies growing a year older on Seollal. It is a joyous time of eating, laughing, sharing, and celebrating the New Year.

Many other countries in Asia celebrate the Lunar New Year, also called Chinese New Year, on the same lunisolar day. The holiday is observed in numerous countries and regions, including China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Each country has its own name for the New Year in its own language, along with unique customs, foods, and festivities celebrated with joy and excitement.

This year, February 17 marks the New Year, ushering in the Year of the Fire Horse. The New Year begins a new sign in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese animal zodiac. Popular activities include hanging lanterns and Spring Festival couplets, sharing reunion dinners, setting off firecrackers and fireworks and giving red envelopes.

The Chinese New Year celebration dates back more than 3,000 years and began as an ancient agricultural and sacrificial ritual to honor ancestors and deities at the end of winter. Rooted in lunar cycles and seasonal farming practices, it was originally tied to harvest celebrations and prayers for abundance in the coming year.

The Chinese New Year begins with the first new moon, which occurs between late January and mid-February, and lasts fifteen days. The celebration culminates in the Lantern Festival at the full moon.

For those of us living in the United States, recognizing and celebrating the Lunar New Year—including Chinese New Year and other Asian New Year traditions—is an important intercultural practice. These celebrations are faithfully preserved by Asian immigrant and diasporic communities who carry ancestral wisdom across borders and generations, allowing younger generations to remember their rich heritage and cultural backgrounds.

The wider dominant society can also recognize Lunar New Year traditions as an important act of honoring diversity and celebrating difference. Such recognition invites us to accept one another more fully and to learn from cultures and practices different from our own. In doing so, we affirm that our shared life together becomes richer when we make space for the stories, rituals and celebrations of all people.

To honor and recognize the Lunar New Year is not merely to acknowledge a cultural festival; it is also to engage in theological hospitality. It is to recognize that God’s presence is not confined to one tradition or calendar, but is revealed through diverse rituals, stories, and sacred times. This intercultural recognition invites us to listen deeply, practice mutual respect and affirm that our shared human journey is enriched when we learn from the wisdom of others.

In celebrating the Lunar New Year, we are reminded that kindness, embrace and welcome are acts of faith. Faith is lived not only in doctrine, but in embodied practices such as shared meals, remembered ancestors and communities gathered in hope and joy. Such practices call us to greater compassion, deeper solidarity and a more expansive understanding of faith in our lives.

As you meet Asian Americans this New Year, share goodwill and wishes for prosperity so that we may live together in harmony, peace, and love. Understanding each other’s histories, cultures, and practices helps us appreciate one another more fully and celebrate our differences.