The Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, is one of the biggest celebrations of the year for over two billion people worldwide. The event represents the welcoming of the new year, and the arrival of spring. Lunar New Year marks a time of family unity, a time of prosperity and bids for good fortune and luck. 

The lantern is central to the celebration as a symbol of good fortune, wards against evil and family unity. Their color bathed in red is the color believed to ward off the mythical beast known as “Nian,” who is associated with misfortune and chaos. These lanterns are often embellished with riddles containing positive, encouraging, and hopeful messages of family, fortune, the harvest, and love. 

The Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) student program at Cal State Bakersfield (CSUB) hosted an event within its halls, to connect its student base to this wonderful time of year. Students gathered to create their own lanterns connecting with the culture and allowing them to connect with each other over shared culture. Students formed lanterns and were given red envelopes. 

These envelopes represent the giving of good luck and fortune for the coming year and ward off evil spirits. The red envelope originates in some of China’s oldest tales. The tale begins long ago as an evil spirit named Sui who’d emerged from the night for the sole purpose of terrorizing children. To keep the children safe from the demon, parents would light a candle and stay awake all night to ward off the demon. But one fateful Lunar New Year, one child was given eight coins to play with, to stay awake. The child would package and unpack the coins in red paper, until he was too tired to continue and fell asleep. His parents packed the coins, placed them under his bed and tucked him in. During that night the demon Sui emerged but when the dreadful demon reached for the boy’s head the coins shone a bright light scaring off the demon. For the coins were revealed to be fairies warding off the demon, sending him off in fear. 

From that point on, the giving of red envelopes has become a way to keep the younger generation safe and to bring them good fortune.