So it is in the global lingua franca, English, where the battle lines are drawn.ĭefenders of “ Chinese New Year” argue that China originated the holiday. In Chinese, xinnian means “ new year.” In Korean, seollal is “ new year’s day.” In Vietnamese, tet simply means “festival. Blinken a “sinophobic, warmongering top diplomat.”Ĭuriously, the issue does not arise in the local languages. With the internet enabling real-time, cross-border debate, they are piling onto multiple issues - robustly. and its allies to a standstill in Korea.Ĭhina’s rise as an economic and military superpower, bolstered by a newly enriched middle class, gave fresh impetus to Chinese influence and assertiveness. The ancient cultural powerhouse began to regain its regional heft under Mao Zedong’s red banner, and China fought the U.S. Politically, both fought wars against China, including in the 20th century.Ī chaos-wracked China, bedeviled by imperial aggression, was dubbed “The Sick Man of Asia” for much of the 19th and 20th centuries. As part of a cultural divergence, Korea and Vietnam each created its own writing system.

Yet the peripheral states chafed at times against the center’s influence. Korea and Vietnam sourced many traditions from the “Middle Kingdom.” Chinese takeaways included writing systems of Chinese ideographs, philosophies such as Confucianism, religions such as Buddhism, medical techniques such as acupuncture, literary classics and martial arts. Today, it is widely celebrated across the region and among the East Asian diaspora globally.

From there, the new year, or spring festival, spread to the China-influenced kingdoms on the empire’s flanks in Korea and Vietnam. Unquestionably, the festival originated in the font of ancient East Asian culture, China, which has always marked the inauguration of a new year by the lunar rather than the solar calendar. The State Department’s use of “Lunar” raised Chinese hackles and the stakes in the debate. You are an essential part of our American tapestry.” “This is a time of celebration and optimism for the coming year, and I particularly wish to recognize the millions of Asian Americans who celebrate this new lunar year. “I wish all observing the Lunar New Year around the world good health, peace, and good fortune,” Mr.

Korean lunar new year gifts