City of Vaughan hosts Lunar New Year celebration, returns in-person this year

The City of Vaughan is hosting a Lunar New Year event Saturday, Jan. 14, from noon to 2 p.m. at City Hall at 2141 Major Mackenzie Drive

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 9, 2023
Brian Capitao

The City of Vaughan is hosting a Lunar New Year event Saturday, Jan. 14, from noon to 2 p.m. at City Hall at 2141 Major Mackenzie Drive.

The Lunar New Year is also known as “Chinese New Year” as it is a traditional festival in China. In China, it is better known as the Spring Festival. A 15-day celebration that is observed with a variety of customs, including thoroughly cleaning one’s house to bring good luck and exchanging of red envelopes filled with money to encourage prosperity.

Lunar New Year is the beginning of a calendar year whose months are moon cycles, based on the lunar calendar or lunisolar calendar. The Lunar New Year as a celebration is observed by numerous cultures.

Of all the traditional cultural festivals that are observed around the world, the Lunar New Year is one of the most elaborate, colourful and important to the Asian community.

“Lunar New Year is an opportunity to celebrate the contributions and rich heritage of Asian Canadians and acknowledge their essential role in city-building. It is a time to gather, reflect on the past year and look to the future with a renewed sense of hope and optimism. We look forward to welcoming the community to Vaughan City Hall on Saturday, Jan. 14 to celebrate and offer best wishes for a prosperous new year,” said Mayor Steven Del Duca in a media release.