Chinese New Year During My Maiden Years

Happy Year of the Fire Horse, Lightworkers! Some of you may know that I lived in Hong Kong as a child for thirteen years, and I ALWAYS looked forward to Chinese New Year. Firstly, all students got TWO WEEKS off of school for Chinese New Year - yes, you read that right, two weeks! And that is two weeks on top of the two weeks that we had for Christmas! So we had Christmas break, back to school for a bit, and then another two weeks off. So fun.

As a kid (or unmarried adult), you also cashed in like crazy during Chinese New Year. Red packets galore! The generosity of my parents' friends/colleagues/acquaintances never ceased to amaze me. And don't even get me started on the fireworks! Oh my Fire Goddess, the fireworks. And the boat festival. And the dragon dances. I can admit this now - I was always TERRIFIED of dragon dances. Which means that they were doing their job, after all - dancing in such a convincingly graceful way that they looked so much like real dragons that would eat me up, plus the drums were so loud and I remember hearing them from across the mall... I realize now that I was super sensitive to loud noises (and still am), and my sensitive little child self could barely stand it, ha. As an adult, of course, I'm not quite so scared of them anymore ;)

Speaking of dragon dances, a group of dragon dancers in my city recently performed a line dance to Cadillac Ranch! Only in Alberta! I could not love this more. It's worth the watch: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1LPa0KCy5i4

I was born in the Philippines and would often visit growing up, and even in the Philippines they celebrate Chinese New Year. The kids don't get two weeks off school for it, but all the other customs - moon cake, red packets, etc. - are celebrated! It sounds strange, but when I moved to Canada in 2001, I knew I would miss Chinese New Year. Okay, okay, Teenage Timmie mostly missed the two weeks' holiday and free cash, but you can't fault me for that can ya?

Chinese New Year as a Mother

I'm nothing if not pragmatic, so while I miss the authentic Hong Kong Chinese New Year festivities, as a Canadian living in Alberta, I'm saving myself a lot of money because I am not bound by the expectation to dole out cash (as a married person) to every child that I come across!

I'm sad to say that I haven't kept up with any of the Chinese New Year festivities myself. Fortunately, Chinese New Year - or, as many people now call it, "Lunar New Year" - is rather mainstream, so I allow myself to get swept up in the celebrations around me. It's interesting, actually, seeing how trendy Chinese astrology has become. It's certainly not my area of expertise, although it's on my ever-growing to-do list of things to master.

As a Mother, and I say "Mother" to refer to myself as both a literal mother and an adulting woman in her late 30s, I have a very practical - if not secular - approach to seasonal celebrations. Certainly, I observe and align strongly with Western Astrology as well as certain Sabbats, many of which line up with the publicly celebrated Christian holidays (Easter, Christmas, etc). I don't make a big thing of things, which is my approach to life in general. Even my birthdays are usually family-only (my kids' parties are another matter, of course).

But I have always resonated strongly with Chinese New Year. Maybe because it is indeed a Lunar New Year, which aligns more strongly with those of us who tend to follow the Moon and feel the energetic shifts of the Earth and the seasons very strongly.

Based on my past experience growing up in Hong Kong and my present experience as a Tibetan Buddhist Practitioner, Chinese Astrology and Tibetan Astrology are deeply intertwined. (And that observation is as far as my expertise goes!). And lucky me, because that has brought this holiday back into my life in a more meaningful, spiritual way.

Today, February 17, 2026 is officially the beginning of Chinese New Year, and tomorrow, February 18, 2026, is when Losar - Tibetan New Year - is officially observed. So while I won't be giving out red packets, and I (sadly) missed all of the CNY parties and celebrations last weekend, I will be observing Tibetan New Year tomorrow in my own modest way (visiting temple, etc).

I guess my point is simply this: We create our own meaning in life. Many years went by where I hardly thought of CNY because there was no external stimulus to remind me of it (especially when I lived in rural Alberta). And now that it seems to be loud and proud all around me both on- and offline, I feel almost peer-pressured into celebrating it in a big way. Even this blog post felt a bit contrived at first, but it turns out I have a lot to say about CNY after all!

Wisdom for the Year of the Fire Horse

As I mentioned, Chinese Astrology is not my forte (yet...?). So I'd like to leave you a couple of videos that I really enjoyed.

1. Feng Shui for the Year of the Fire Horse - This is a great, actionable video focused on Feng Shui. No background knowledge needed.

2. Chinese Astrology for the Fire Horse - I LOVE Joey Yap. I highly recommend him if you're interested in Chinese Astrology. This is a short video for all signs, but if you know your Chinese Zodiac Sign, I recommend that you check out his detailed videos for your specific sign for the year ahead.

From the bottom of my heart, I am wishing you health, wealth, and happiness in the new year to come.

Blessings,