Happy Lunar New Year 2014

One of the perks of being Asian is that you get to celebrate two new year holidays. We cook a lot of food, give red envelopes (oh money), and celebrate the future. I even wear red on this special day. In my case, I help my mother make banh chung (a traditional Vietnamese rice cake with meat and mung beans) the night before. It has always been an annual thing for us and I love every moment of it.

After it's prepared, it is cooked for 4 hours. After school, I ate some with pickled leeks. When it begins to go bad, my parents fry them.

But really, New Years is very important in that we wish for good luck and health for the upcoming year. It makes the year something to look forward to. Later, I will go visit my grandmother to give her some banh chung. : )
On the red envelope that my mother gave me, there was some writing. Here is what it said:
"New Year is a special day. They cook good food on that day. That's why New Year is special. It's on 1/22/04." Oh man, that was 10 years ago! Apparently New Years is only important because of the "good food."

Do you guys celebrate New Years? If so, what did you guys do this year?

Theresa