Every National Day

Lunar New Year (Year of the Rooster)
2029-02-13
Welcoming a New Year of Renewal and Good Fortune
Lunar New Year is one of the world’s oldest and most widely celebrated holidays, observed across East and Southeast Asia and throughout global diasporas. Falling between late January and mid-February, its date is determined by the lunar calendar, marking the transition from one zodiac animal year to the next. For many, Lunar New Year is not just the start of a calendar cycle but a moment of renewal — a time to clear out the old, honor ancestors, and welcome luck, health, and prosperity for the year ahead.

Ancient Traditions, Timeless Meanings
The holiday’s roots stretch back thousands of years to agrarian societies in China, where winter’s end signaled the coming of spring and planting season. Legends tell of Nian, a mythical beast frightened away by firecrackers, bright colors, and loud drums — traditions that still shape today’s celebrations. Over time, neighboring regions developed their own customs. In China it is known as Chūnjié (Spring Festival), in Vietnam as Tết, in Korea as Seollal, and in Tibet as Losar. Each culture shares themes of reunion, respect, cleansing, and hope.

Preparing for the New Year
Lunar New Year preparations often begin weeks beforehand. Families deep-clean their homes to clear away bad luck, settle debts, buy new clothes, and hang red decorations symbolizing happiness and fortune. Offerings are made at ancestral altars, and oranges, tangerines, and blooming flowers fill living rooms with color and fragrance. On New Year’s Eve, families gather for a lavish reunion dinner — often the most important meal of the year — featuring dishes that symbolize long life, abundance, and unity: whole fish, dumplings, long noodles, rice cakes, and sweet rice balls.

Celebrations Across Communities
Festivities continue for 15 days or more, depending on the tradition. In many cities, lion and dragon dances wind through the streets as firecrackers burst overhead. Elders gift red envelopes (lì xì, hóngbāo, or sebae don) filled with money to children, symbolizing blessings and protection. In Vietnam, families display blooming peach branches or apricot flowers, while Koreans begin the morning with ancestral rites and a bowl of tteokguk. Lantern Festivals, parades, temple visits, and community feasts keep spirits high as people welcome the new year’s energy.

Ways to Celebrate Lunar New Year

Share a symbolic meal: Make dumplings, spring rolls, longevity noodles, or bánh chưng with family or friends.
Decorate with intention: Hang red lanterns, paper couplets, or zodiac symbols that invite good fortune.
Honor ancestors: Light incense, prepare offerings, or share stories of loved ones who came before you.
Give red envelopes: Offer blessings of prosperity and well-being to children or younger relatives.
Attend community events: Join local parades, lion dances, or cultural performances.

A Celebration of Hope and Togetherness
At its heart, Lunar New Year is about renewal — clearing space for hope, community, and good fortune in the year ahead. Whether celebrated through food, dance, prayer, or simple togetherness, the holiday reminds us that even in challenging times, traditions can carry joy forward. As people across the world exchange greetings of peace and prosperity, the Lunar New Year becomes more than a date — it becomes a shared invitation to begin again with intention, gratitude, and optimism.

Lantern Festival
2029-02-27
A Night When Light Takes Center Stage
The Lantern Festival glows on the 15th day of the first lunar month, marking the joyful close of Chinese New Year celebrations. It is a night when lanterns rise, riddles dance across paper, and families gather under the first full moon of the lunar year. Rooted in over two millennia of history, the festival blends myth, spirituality, and communal joy — creating one of the most enchanting evenings in the lunar calendar.

Legends That Sparked the Tradition
Historical accounts trace the festival back to the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). One widely shared story tells of Emperor Ming, a devout Buddhist ruler who observed monks lighting lanterns on the fifteenth day of the lunar month to honor the Buddha. Inspired, he ordered the entire empire to hang lanterns in celebration — a practice that quickly spread.
Another beloved folktale recounts how the Jade Emperor planned to destroy a village. A compassionate fairy warned the villagers, urging them to hang red lanterns and light firecrackers so the emperor’s troops would believe the town was already burning. The clever ruse saved the people, and the tradition of lantern-lighting became a symbol of wisdom, unity, and light triumphing over darkness.

A World of Lanterns
The festival’s heart is its lanterns — crafted in countless shapes, styles, and hues. Traditional lanterns feature bamboo frames covered in silk or paper, painted with birds, lotus flowers, dragons, or elegant calligraphy. Modern celebrations introduce electric lanterns shaped like storybook characters, constellations, and mythical beasts.
Parks and temples host lantern fairs where families stroll beneath tunnels of glowing spheres. Children parade with rabbit-shaped lanterns on sticks, while couples admire tall, ornate palace lanterns painted in shimmering red and gold. In Taiwan’s Pingxi District, tens of thousands of sky lanterns rise into the night, each carrying handwritten wishes — floating prayers that drift upward to join the stars.

Traditions That Nourish the Body and Spirit
Food plays a central symbolic role. Families eat tangyuan — glutinous rice balls filled with black sesame, peanut paste, red bean, or even modern flavors like chocolate. Their roundness represents unity, wholeness, and the hope that the coming year will be smooth and harmonious.
Festivities may also include lion and dragon dances, their movements guided by pounding drums and gongs. Performers leap, weave, and whirl to invite good fortune and ward off bad spirits. Lantern riddles — clever word puzzles written on lanterns — challenge festival-goers to test their wit, and solving them is said to bring luck.

A Festival That Evolves While Honoring the Past
Today, the Lantern Festival thrives in both ancient and modern forms. Cities incorporate laser shows, LED installations, and lanterns powered by solar energy. Rural communities preserve artisanal lantern-making and oral storytelling traditions passed down through generations. Whether amid urban skylines or quiet village courtyards, the warm glow of lanterns transforms the night into something magical.
As the first full moon of the lunar year shines overhead, the festival invites everyone to pause, look upward, and wish for harmony, prosperity, and new beginnings. The Lantern Festival’s radiance — carried by flame, electric light, or hope itself — continues to connect people across cultures and centuries.

Hanukkah
2029-12-01 - 2029-12-09
A Festival of Light Born from Courage and Restoration
Hanukkah returns each year as a warm, flickering beacon against the deepening nights of winter. Its story reaches back to the second century BCE, when the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes outlawed Jewish practice and desecrated the Second Temple in Jerusalem. In response, a small group of Jewish rebels — led by Judah Maccabee and his brothers — launched a guerrilla revolt. Against overwhelming odds, they reclaimed Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple. According to tradition, when the Maccabees sought to rekindle the Temple’s menorah, they found only a single cruse of ritually pure oil, enough for just one day. Miraculously, the flame burned for eight days, long enough to prepare new oil. Hanukkah — meaning “dedication” — commemorates both this military victory and the enduring miracle of the light.

Eight Nights of Light and Meaning
The holiday begins on the 25th of the Hebrew month of Kislev, usually in December, and lasts for eight nights. Families light a nine-branched hanukkiah, adding one candle each evening and using the central shamash (helper candle) to kindle the others. The growing glow symbolizes perseverance, hope, and the belief that even a small light can dispel great darkness. Children spin dreidels, tops engraved with Hebrew letters forming the acronym for “A great miracle happened there” — or, in Israel, “here.” Foods fried in oil, such as crispy latkes and pillowy sufganiyot, honor the miracle of the oil through taste and aroma.

An Evolving Tradition Across Time and Place
Though Hanukkah’s core narrative is ancient, its customs have evolved across centuries and cultures. Medieval Jewish communities recited special hymns and read from the books of the Maccabees. In Eastern Europe, children received small gifts or gelt (coins). In the United States, where Hanukkah falls near Christmas, families developed new traditions: exchanging nightly presents, decorating with blue and white ornaments, and hosting lively gatherings. The holiday has also been a powerful statement of identity and resilience. During the Holocaust, Jews lit candles secretly in ghettos and camps as acts of spiritual defiance. Under Soviet repression, clandestine menorah lightings represented quiet but profound courage.

Community, Celebration, and the Power of Light
Today, Hanukkah shines brightly in public and private spaces alike. Cities such as New York and San Francisco host large menorah lightings in public squares; in Jerusalem, massive menorahs illuminate the Western Wall plaza. Jewish organizations hold concerts, charity drives, and latke cook-offs. Schools teach children Hebrew songs like “Maoz Tzur” and “Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah.” At home, families gather near the kitchen table, the scent of frying oil filling the air, to retell the story of the Maccabees and reflect on the holiday’s enduring themes.

Ways to Celebrate Hanukkah

Light the hanukkiah: Add one candle each night and share blessings with family or community.
Cook traditional foods: Fry latkes or sufganiyot to honor the miracle of the oil.
Teach and learn: Read about the Maccabees, explore Jewish history, or study Hanukkah melodies.
Give thoughtfully: Share gelt, small gifts, or donations to charities that reflect Hanukkah’s spirit of justice.
Join community events: Attend concerts, menorah lightings, or cultural programs hosted by local synagogues or organizations.

A Light That Endures
Hanukkah does not promise miracles in every era — but it does promise memory, identity, and hope. It reminds us that even in moments of darkness, courage can ignite lasting light. As candles burn down to glowing embers and wax pools at the base of the hanukkiah, the message persists: a small flame can warm a home, unite a community, and inspire future generations to stand up for their beliefs, no matter the obstacles.

Super Saturday
2029-12-22
The Final Sprint of the Holiday Shopping Season
Super Saturday — sometimes called Panic Saturday — is the last Saturday before Christmas, a day when millions of shoppers flood stores and websites to complete their gift lists. Falling this year on December 20, it stands as one of the busiest retail days of the season, rivaled only by Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Many people arrive at this moment not by accident but by design: busy workweeks, travel, family responsibilities, and the lure of last-minute deals all push gift buying to this crescendo of urgency and festivity.

A Day Marked by Urgency and Cheer
On Super Saturday, mall parking lots fill early, checkout lines grow long, and retailers extend hours to accommodate the rush. Stores offer steep discounts, doorbuster promotions, and special sales aimed at capturing the final wave of holiday spending. Online orders spike as well, with shoppers racing to secure items before shipping deadlines close. Despite the hustle, there is a surprisingly warm atmosphere: holiday music loops through loudspeakers, strangers chat as they wait in line, and the shared mission of finishing holiday prep brings a sense of camaraderie.

Smarter Ways to Approach the Rush
Super Saturday can be chaotic, but it also provides a unique opportunity to rethink how we give. For those who prefer to avoid crowded malls and hectic parking lots, the day is ideal for supporting local and small businesses, many of which offer handmade goods, gift cards, and curated items that feel personal and meaningful. Some choose to skip traditional gifts altogether, planning experiences — a shared meal, a day trip, theater tickets — instead of material items. Others use the day to finish homemade presents or prepare charitable donations in honor of loved ones.

Ways to Celebrate Super Saturday

Shop local: Visit independent bookstores, artisan markets, or small boutiques for unique gifts.
Plan experiences: Create memory-driven presents such as cooking classes, spa days, or concert tickets.
Stay organized: Make a list before heading out to keep stress low and spending intentional.
Go digital: Take advantage of online sales to avoid crowds while still finishing your list.
Give back: Donate to charities or volunteer in your community as a way to honor the spirit of the season.

A Reminder of What the Holidays Truly Mean
Though the day can feel like a frenzy of coupons, carts, and countdown clocks, Super Saturday ultimately highlights something deeper. The real value of holiday giving is not found in the objects we purchase but in the effort we make to care for one another. Whether you embrace the bustle or opt for a quieter approach, the day invites reflection on generosity, connection, and the joy of showing love in whatever way feels right.
