Lunar New Year - Sweeping Out the Old
| Category: | Holidays |
|---|---|
| Props: | A small broom, or a red envelope (optional) |
| Notes: | For the meeting nearest Lunar New Year, which falls between late January and mid-February. Celebrated as the Spring Festival in China, Seollal in Korea, and Tết in Vietnam, and by communities around the world. If Scouts in your unit celebrate, invite them to share their own family traditions. |
This week, more than a billion people around the world are celebrating Lunar New Year. In China it's called the Spring Festival. In Korea it's Seollal. In Vietnam it's Tết. Families from many other countries celebrate it too, including plenty of families right here at home.
Every family celebrates a little differently, but some traditions are shared by many. One of them happens before the holiday even starts. Families clean their homes from top to bottom, sweeping out every corner. The idea is to sweep away the bad luck of the old year and make room for good things in the new one. And many families are careful not to sweep on New Year's Day itself, so they don't sweep the new good luck right back out the door.
Then comes the celebration. Families travel long distances to be together for a big reunion dinner. Younger people show respect to their grandparents and other elders. Children often receive red envelopes with a little money inside, a wish for good luck in the year ahead.
Some of that sounds a lot like Scouting. We clean up our campsite before we leave. We honor the people who came before us. We look forward to new adventures.
So here's a question to take home. If you could sweep one thing out of your life this year, a bad habit, a grudge, a fear, what would it be? And what would you want to make room for instead?
To everyone celebrating this week: Happy Lunar New Year.