Editor’s Note: This article was written for Mosaic, an independent journalism training program for high school students who report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.
The Year of the Snake meant good luck for Lunar New Year festivities at San Jose’s Santana Row on Saturday, which were showered by color, dance, and song instead of predicted rainy weather.
NBC news anchor Gia Vang emceed the afternoon’s lineup of performances of taekwondo, kung fu fight scenes, flying Chinese yo-yos and acapella numbers.
Hundreds stood captivated before the stage, including college students Yaox Hern and Ken Ong from Malaysia. The brothers came to San Jose to see the show with their mother and participate in cultural traditions like their family reunion dinner.
“We meet with our grandparents and have the reunion dinner,” Ken Ong said, adding that the dinner happens right before the lunar or Chinese New Year. “Every dish represents something.”
This year lunar New Year began Jan. 29. Celebrations last about 15 days and may include traditions from China, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea and other Asian countries. Families share wishes for prosperity for the new year and usher away bad luck from the previous year.
On Saturday, three multicolored and gold-adorned dancing lions swirled, extending good wishes to the crowd while moving in step with the rhythmic beat of drums and cymbals.
Although it wasn’t Taylor Gee’s first time attending a Lunar New Year celebration, the San Jose State University fourth-year student said she came to experience connection with her culture and family.
“Every year we have family dinners and come to watch the events,” Gee said. “It’s a fresh start. The lion dance brings good luck and scares off bad things.”
Performers such as the Stanford Taiko group introduced attendees to North American Japanese-style ensemble drumming.
Dressed in a happi, a Japanese coat, Stanford Taiko’s Performance Director Emily Huang, 23, and her team pulsed with energetic drumming. Huang said taiko symbolizes more than art.
“Part of the experience is not just playing the art form, but learning about all the rich history of the community,” Huang said. “It’s just really cool to be able to connect with that cultural space and also educate people on how diverse it is.”
Nebraska resident Linda Luu Rosno’s old stomping grounds are in San Jose, but it was her family’s first time celebrating at Santana Row. Rosno said the weekend gave her husband and two children the opportunity to understand her Chinese heritage.
“It’s about family and doing things together,” Rosno said. “Being here has given them more of an understanding of cultural traditions. We will sometimes go to the temple, eat and give red envelopes.”
Red envelopes with money are often given, mostly to younger members of the family, symbolizing wishes for good fortune and blessings. Santana Row’s celebration embraced that tradition by filling red envelopes with gift cards for families to find around the shopping center. The celebration also offered arts and crafts for children.
Some groups such as the San Jose taekwondo group Infinity Martial Arts offered interactive lessons. After displaying rounds of energetic jump kicks and fighting techniques with various weapons, members invited the crowd to learn how to chop boards in half with just their hand.
Julia Morecci, owner and head instructor of Infinity Martial Arts, said it was her second time performing at Santana Row. Morecci said getting involved with the community is part of the group’s core values.
“We’re all about unity, friendship, community and goals,” she said. “We want to show that our kids are like leaders in the community. And we have a really tight-knit, close culture.”
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James Logan High School student Nathaniel Lugtu, 14, didn’t let the chance of rain get in the way of celebrating. Lugtu, who is Filipino, said he was “thrilled” to watch Infinity Martial Arts.
“I appreciate the inclusivity,” Lugtu said. “There’s a rich culture in San Jose and a rich history.”
In a surprise appearance, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan wished the crowd happy new year in Chinese and Vietnamese and echoed Lugtu’s appreciation for culture.
“I truly believe that our diversity is strength,” Mahan said. “We welcome people from all over the world to create incredible opportunity.”
Autumn Alvarez is majoring in journalism at San Francisco State University.
