From Family Tables to Shared Kilometres: Lunar New Year Today
Growing up in Australia as a Vietnamese Australian, Lunar New Year has always been incredibly special. It was the season that brought everyone together around generous tables, through shared games and laughter, and into stories that connected us to our families, our culture, and where we came from.
For many Asian Australians, Lunar New Year remains a moment of return; to food, to family, to tradition. Lunar New Year is now marked not just at dinner tables or temples, but on foot through shared kilometres and community runs. To explore what Lunar New Year looks like today, we spoke with Ji Sheng and Tiger Le. Ji and Tiger share what Lunar New Year means to them and how it continues to find new expression.
1. What's your Chinese zodiac?
Ji: Ox - the zodiac for strength, perseverance and diligence. High hopes from my parents but it may also explain my love of beef, chocolate milk and cows.
Tiger: The Tiger, which I was named after.
2. What does Lunar New Year mean to you and your family?
Ji: Chinese New Year has always been an incredibly special time of the year for me and my family. It’s a chance for my family to reconnect with their community - whether it’s by having extended family gatherings here in Sydney or going back to Guangzhou to visit our hometown. Our celebrations are heavily centred around food, from intergenerational dumpling making to my dad showcasing his new project (Peking Duck, crispy pork, Shantou seafood congee). On a personal level, I hold CNY especially close to my heart as an opportunity to celebrate my family’s roots, reconnect with my culture and remind myself of the incredibly rich and beautiful customs that have been passed down through generations of my family. Customs which have survived through hardships, wars, and moving to a whole new continent. As a second-generational immigrant, there has always been a battle between assimilation and not wanting to lose any parts of identity in the process of fitting in. It has not always been easy to showcase this aspect of myself, however a great side effect of the world being chronically online is increasing appreciation for other cultures. Now seeing, Chinese New Year being celebrated not just by my immediate family, but Lunar New Year amongst all Asians in Australia and extending to friends of all backgrounds makes me feel proud, seen and excited.
Tiger: Lunar New Year is a time for us to reconnect with family, community, and culture. Growing up in Cabramatta, the celebrations feel especially vibrant as the whole area truly comes to life.
3. What do you look forward to most every Lunar New Year?
Ji: Reconnecting with my extended family, slipping straight back into childhood dynamics, eating ourselves sick and listening to grandma’s stories .
Tiger: Visiting my local temple. It is a deeply spiritual experience, and I love the sensory richness, from traditional at
4. What is your favourite dish on the LNY spread? // Favourite yum cha dish?
Ji: Favourite yum cha dish and one that I have not been able to recreate at home: ham Sui got/ 鹹水角 / colloquially known as ‘footballs’. For Chinese New Year specifically, I can’t wait for sweet bean desserts or a good steamed fish.
Tiger: My mum’s braised pork and egg.
5. Do you have a go to LNY wish/message that you say?
Ji: Of all the cheng-yus drilled into my head, my favourite is ‘一路順風’ or ‘bon voyage’. Traditionally it is something you say when someone is travelling or leaving you home but I’d like to think it can be applied to any journey. So - may all your paths - whether it is a literal trip or a goal you have set for the new year - go smoothly.
Tiger: In Vietnamese, we say “Chúc mừng năm mới.”
6. Did your family play Hoo Hey How? And which was your favourite to back?
Ji: My family doesn’t play Hoo Hey How but you can almost guarantee someone is going to whip out a karaoke machine or a mismatched majong set.
Tiger: Yes, though in Vietnamese it is called “Bầu cua tôm cá.” My favourite symbol to back is the prawn, tôm.
7. How is the next generation making Lunar New Year making it their own?
Ji: As with many other Australian born Chinese, second/ third generation immigrants grapple with a unique hybrid identity. For some, that often leads to completely disengagement and; for others spending years trying to find empowerment or a bridge to our heritage. I think the next generation will move towards celebrating Lunar New Year as an assimilated festival - one that blends many asian traditions by bringing together the knowledge passed down from our families to new communities - to find a sense of belonging within a wider network.
Tiger: The next generation is finding creative and community-driven ways to celebrate. A great example is the Chinatown Run Club x Run Fly Run Club x Kings Cross Track Club Lunar New Year run, which also featured commemorative graphic running tops.
8. How many kms would it take to burn off the LNY spread?
Ji: Chinese New Year is traditionally celebrated from New Year’s Eve (with a large feast) until the Lantern Festival with a different theme every day etc. steamed fish, dumplings, tangyuan. Since I’ve started running, I have tried to line up any large dinners with long runs in hopes of burning off some of the spread but it might take a backyard ultra or two to undo all the damage.
Tiger: 8.88 km.
Lunar New Year reminds us that tradition is something we carry forward; adapting, evolving, and finding new meaning along the way. Whether celebrated around a table, inside a temple, or shared across a few kilometres with community, it continues to offer connection and belonging.
As Ji and Tiger reflect, today’s celebrations are less about preserving something perfectly and more about keeping it alive. However you mark the season, may the new year bring you good health, prosperity, new horizons, and plenty of start lines to the races in your heart. 新年快乐. Chúc mừng năm mới.
Written by Steve (Khoi) Nguyen
Ji and Tiger wear limited edition apparel and footwear from On's Year Of The Horse Collection. Shop the edit here.
