Celebrate Lunar New Year

We celebrate Lunar New Year, a time filled with festivity, delicious food, and wishes for good health. This Lunar New Year, we welcome the Year of the Ox: the zodiac symbol of persistence, diligence, and honesty. We applaud all those from the year of the ox and wish everyone a safe and happy new year.

We know that planning for such a memorable holiday takes time and effort. To help you prepare for this special day, we’ve curated a list of Central City shops to cater to your New Year planning needs.

Many people start the Lunar New Year with a winter clean to clear away all of the previous year’s negativity and welcome good fortune and luck. Families may choose to donate old items, clean their homes from top to bottom, and rearrange furnishings for optimal design. Visit Walmart, Shoppers Drug Mart, Dollarama, Buck or Two Plus for all your cleaning and organization needs.

After a deep clean, many families may choose to decorate their homes with red lanterns to drive off bad luck and write New Year couplets filled with good wishes and blessings. These poems are placed on walls or outside doors as many believe they attract harmony and prosperity. Did you know this holiday is also known as Spring Festival? Many people celebrate it by inviting the warm weather into their homes with blooming orchids and peonies. Find all of your Chinese New Year decorations at T&T Supermarket, and purchase fresh flowers from Continental Flowers.  Check out Winners and The Brick to add an extra flair to your décor.

With your house clean and freshly decorated, you can focus on creating a delicious New Year’s reunion dinner. While you may not celebrate a large feast with family this year, cooking something special for the holidays is still a must. Try a new recipe for dumplings, long noodles, spring rolls, or sweet rice balls. Celebrate with friends and family by cooking different dishes and dropping them outside their doors. This way, everyone can enjoy the same dinner while on a virtual call. Shop for fresh fruit and vegetables at Farm Fresh Produce and look for baked pastries at T&T Supermarket, or Maxim’s Bakery. You can also follow the recipe books of seasoned chefs found only at Black Bond Books.

Gifts can be a meaningful way to celebrate the New Year and show someone just how important they are in your life. Traditionally, people give red envelopes to their loved ones. These envelopes contain money or “yā suì qián” meaning money to anchor the year. The money is generally given to people younger than you in hopes of the elders passing on their good fortune and blessings. Fill your red envelope with gift cards from Central City purchased from Guest Services to use at many of our 140 shops.

From our families to yours, have a wonderful Lunar New Year filled with good luck and fortune!