How to greet your E/SEAsian friends this holiday
“Lunar New Year” was traditionally a neutral greeting in and of itself. Many E/SEAsians used it in recognition of the new year festivals, with many based on the Chinese lunisolar calendar* due to the history of Sino-Tibetan relations with other nations and peoples—while the unspoken sensibility was that we recognised each festival is unique to each group. *Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian New Year and Losar, the Tibetan New Year, has a mostly different history, meaning and nomadic traditions to the Chinese New Year. These do not follow nor coincide with the Chinese Lunisolar calendar, but does follow the Chinese zodiac [Source].
However, it has become uncomfortable due to non-E/SEAsians imposing it onto us, to frame that Lunar New Year festivals and the ethnic groups who celebrate it, are interchangeable. This is in part due to the Sinophobic denial of the influence of the Chinese lunisolar calendar. It furthermore disrespects the autonomies of each individual group and their own traditions, along with the bad blood between groups due to long-standing conflicts, violence and ongoing oppression.
As always; Remember our dead. Recognise our pain. Grieve. Do not forget.
Chinese New Year for Sinodiasporas across the world has not always been free for everyone to celebrate safely, nor even recognise and name it as Chinese. Especially in countries with rampant Sinophobia like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines—as well as within the Anglosphere. With the most recent anti-Chinese massacre in 2024, and ICE agents targeting Sinodiasporas.
To celebrate and participate in the Chinese language, culture and even names, was to invite death and terrorism. Some of us are only now recollecting the shapes and colours of our inherited blank slates, since they were taken from us and erased.
Recognise the events of the world that has historically and continue to target our diasporas, and those who may not be here to celebrate with us.
When the Chinese celebrate, this is our resistance.
On that note I’m also gonna ask for everyone to start differentiating between and naming E/SEAsian nationalities and ethnicities (ie Korean, Japanese, Northern Chinese, Southern Chinese, Mongolian, Tibetan, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Bruneian, Singaporean, Laotian, Cambodian, Thai, Indonesian, Burmese, and more)—whether this is to spew positive or negative commentary, otherwise your anti-Asianness and attempt to other all SEAsians or all EAsians affects everyone else uninvolved.
And if you’re of E/SEAsian descent, but you speak with no distinction of each ethnic group—we can tell you don’t see yourself as one of us. It is not rocket science to learn that E/SEAsians aren’t the same. We don’t share the exact replica of cultural values, symbolisms, habits and mechanisms. Even our diasporas have undergone regional indigenisation with indigenous populations and faced different regional struggles—creating new foods, dialects, spiritualities, teachings and values.
So instead of saying “Happy Lunar New Year”, here are the names of the specific new year festivals unique to each national-ethno-cultural group.
( Those a part of these groups can still say LNY to their kin, without assuming anti-Asian ignorance of our own peoples.
Bear in mind that not everyone descended from these identities celebrate these festivals, as we do vary in specific ethnic groups as well as cultural practices. Always ask if they celebrate it before you wish them the following—and don’t use their language greetings unless you are certain they won’t interpret it as a microaggression. )
For Chinese peoples & Sinodiasporas;
Happy Chinese New Year!
Or if mainland Chinese:
Happy 春节 (chūn jié)🇨🇳!
新年快乐 (xīn nián kuài lè) ! Happy New Year! 恭喜发财 (gōng xǐ fā cái) ! Wishing you prosperity! Happy 春节 (chūn jié) ! Happy Spring Festival! ( Other CNY greetings )
Or if Chinese Indonesian or Malaysian:
Selamat Tahun Baru Imlek!
Although some non-Chinese Indonesians say “Tahun Baru Cina” (Chinese New Year), Chinese Indonesians tend to refrain from publicly adding “Chinese” / Cina, due to the dangerous anti-Chinese sentiments by indigenous Indonesians against the Sinodiaspora there, and ‘Cina’ as a slur in reference to anti-Chinese massacres. Do not forget the multiple anti-Chinese massacres in this time committed by the indigenous Indonesians. [Source]
For Vietnamese peoples & Vietnamese diasporas;
Happy Tết Nguyên Đán🇻🇳!
( Tết greetings )
For Taiwanese peoples & Taiwanese diasporas;
Happy 農曆新年 (nóng lì xīn nián) 🇹🇼!
( nonglixingnian greetings )
The Sinodiasporas of Taiwan tend to generally consist of Hokkien (aka Hoklo or Minnanren) peoples, descendants to the Min Yue—one of the pre-Qin Austronesian indigenous tribe (Bai Yue: 100 Tribes) of Southern China. The Hokkien peoples vary in their ethnocultural integrations with the indigenous Sinitic Han Chinese empire and other ethnicities over thousands of years. Presently, they are found in China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia and other global sinodiasporas.
However, ROC of Taiwan has had long-standing oppositions to the PRC of China, and the Taiwanese do not call themselves Chinese. Within the last century, there were massacres of the communists in Taiwan, just as there were massacres of the anti-communists in China. The violences between both groups, which is why while New Year practices may be similar between the Chinese and the Taiwanese, the Taiwanese are adamant about preserving their autonomies in their own New Year celebration. This is also why most 農曆新年 (nóng lì xīng nián) greetings are in the Hokkien dialect, yet not all Hokkien peoples celebrate this the Taiwanese way.
For Tibetan peoples & Tibetan diasporas;
Happy Losar 💛💙🤍❤️!
( Losar greetings )
The Tibetan peoples of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), are descendants of the indigenous Tibetan empire. However, Tibet’s sovereignty are not recognised by others,
The peak of the Tibetan empire and its reign over parts of China was during the ~618 CE periods, where it warred with the Han-led Tang Dynasty. Tibet has inconsistently been cooperative subjects to China, but specifically during the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty (~1217), and the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty (~1720). Tibetans insist this did not extend to Han-led Ming Dynasty (~1368) administrative control.
Tibet had de facto independence from 1912—1951. However, they were only invaded by the PRC in 1959. They have not been recognised by foreign nations as a sovereign nation, whereby foreign nations default to China to governing Tibetan rights.
Most Tibetan leaders and peoples call for Tibet’s sovereignty including the Tibetan Government in exile (Central Tibetan Administration), especially given the continuous violations of the Tibet Treaty in 821 CE. Since the 1997 Middle-Way treaty, there was unanimous agreement between the CTA and the Tibetan peoples for Tibet be an autonomous region under the suzerainty of China. As evidenced by the ecocides committed by China (presently Han-led), the success of the Middle Way treaty and the treatment of the Tibetan peoples and their lands are called into question once more.
Losar as a Tibetan festival has been used as a resistance against the PRC, thus the choice to celebrate it is typically treated with caution. There are some years in which the peoples of Tibet chose not to celebrate Losar in resistance and grief of the oppressions of the Tibetan peoples.
For Mongolian peoples & Mongolian diasporas;
Happy Tsagaan Sar 🇲🇳!
(Tsagaan Sar greetings)
For Korean peoples & Korean diasporas;
Happy 설날 Seollal 🇰🇷!
( Seollal greetings )
[Note: Japanese peoples used to celebrate the Lunar New Year festival as ‘Shogatsū’. Since 1873, most no longer do and instead use the Western/Gregorian New Year].
