Feb. 17 is a more humane start to the new year, IMO
We're less than a week out until the New Year!
I’ve celebrated Lunar New Year with my family my entire life. But this year, it feels different. I’ve been settling into both the rollout of our new brand name and a big personal transition, and moving through these in the very deeply astrology-inclined place I call home (West Sonoma County, CA), where you can talk to a stranger about the lunar phases as casually as you can talk about the weather.
All of it has me feeling more called than ever to slow down and actually observe the new year, rather than operating the business as usual with just a few more events on the calendar. It feels like an opportunity to start new traditions, to reflect on the previous year, and to get intentional about the one coming up.
So in this post, I’ll tell you a little bit about what I’ve been doing to prepare for the Lunar New Year. I’d love to hear what your traditions are, too!
Spoiler alert: this holiday is mostly about dumplings. Behold, some scenes from our first dumpling workshop at Dos' Bar in downtown Sonoma last week:
Lunar New Year celebrations begin on the second new moon after the winter solstice and end with the full moon. This year, that means we will be raging from February 17th through March 3rd. Yes chef!
Also, good news for the overworked: All that classic New Year stuff people want to get done by January 1st, like tying up loose ends and setting goals of becoming a new and improved person etc., actually has a later deadline. Thankfully! I am usually a complete vegetable by the end of December after the holiday rush and this year was no different.
February 17th is more humane. I’ve started calling this upcoming stretch Lunar Q1. So here's what I've been up to!
Cleaning. You’re not supposed to clean on the day of the Lunar New Year because it’s believed to sweep incoming good luck out the door. So I’m doing the purging and deep cleaning now!
Digging every red item of clothing I own out of the closet. Red is a lucky color and believed to ward off bad energy, which feels like a low effort / high reward situation.
Testing new dumpling recipes. Sure, I’ve got my go-tos, but when it comes to dumplings, more is more. I am working on a maitake / lion’s mane / kabocha squash recipe that I’ll get to you before the big day next week.
Finally, personal reflection and intention setting. We’re wrapping up a Wood Snake year. These final days are about shedding the versions of ourselves that cannot come with us into what’s next. Last year was deeply transformative for me, personally and professionally, and also very isolating and hard. Lots of truth telling and learning.
I'm grateful to be moving forward from this chapter. But even more broadly, I’m noticing a shift in energy in the community. A year ago, I felt a lot of exhaustion and hopelessness in the air post-inauguration. Lately, what I feel instead is a readiness to engage, to resist, to protect our neighbors, and to move with more intention. That feels aligned with the Year of the Fire Horse: movement and forward momentum, even if it’s imperfect.
You’ll hear more from me as we lead up to the new year! Until then, know that our team is here to make sure there are no naked dumplings this Lunar New Year! Dress them up in red :)
Thank you for reading! Please feel free to share in the comments what LNY traditions look like in your family. And order chili crisp through the website if you'd like to have it on hand for the festivities!
xo+sauce
lani
horse-in-chief, Hei Ma
