Lunar New Year: How Are You Celebrating?

It's the Year of the Rabbit. How are you celebrating?

The Lunar New Year, which lands on Feb. 3 this year, marks the start of the lunar calendar and is celebrated by a number of Asian American communities, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tibetan and Mongolian.

The last Year of the Rabbit was 1999.

At one time, Americans only knew it as "Chinese New Year," because some of the earliest celebrations going back to the Gold Rush were held by Chinese. But with the Bay Area's markedly changed demographics, the new year according to the lunar calendar can be known in many different ways in many languages.

Whether you call it Seolnal, Tet, Sun Neen, Xin Nian, or just the New Year, the festivities reflect a great celebration for visiting family and friends, big, celebratory meals, new clothes, and getting off on the right foot to set the tone for the entire year ahead.