Alumni

Ringing in the Year of the Dragon

by Julia Roehl, Office of Development Communications

Students folding paper

The 2024 Lunar New Year begins on February 10 and each celebration looks different for every family. With the Year of the Dragon around the corner, USF alumni reveal what Lunar New Year looks like to them. Lynna Do ’97 MPA ’03, Yuni Cho MBA ’23, Tina Cheung MA ’09, and Jackie Nguyen ’18 share some of their favorite dishes and memories from past Lunar New Years.

Lynna Do ’97, MPA’03

Lynna Do with her mother
Lynna Do (right) and her mother celebrating Lunar New Year.

For Lynna Do, keeping traditions alive is one of the most important things to do during the Lunar New Year. She prepares beautiful table spreads of new red candles and incense. Fresh fruits, like apples and oranges, line Lynna’s table in hopes that the kitchen Gods will report back to her ancestors granting them prosperity for the year ahead. In Do’s family, tradition also means delicious food like roasted duck and fried fish. “You forget you like them until the new year comes around. It’s like turkey on Thanksgiving; you only have it once a year,” said Do about her Lunar New Year dishes. The Do’s Lunar New Year celebration goes beyond the delicious food. Her family was even featured on the cover of the San Francisco Examiner celebrating 25 years ago.

Yuni Cho ’23

Yuni Cho dressed in a traditional hanbok which is worn during Lunar New Year.
Yuni Cho dressed in a traditional hanbok.

Food is one of Yuni Cho’s favorite parts about Lunar New Year, and she cherishes time spent with her family and cousins. Some of Cho’s favorite dishes include Tteok Mandu Guk (Rice Cake Soup with Dumplings), Galbi-jjim (Braised beef short ribs), and LA galbi (grilled beef short ribs). Cho and her family enjoy Sikhye, a traditional sweet rice beverage, and Hangwa, Korean confections.

 

 

 

 

Tina Cheung ’09

Tina Cheung participating in the Chinatown YMCA Lunar New Year 5K-10K
Tina Cheung in the Chinatown YMCA Lunar New Year 5K.

Tina Cheung welcomes the Lunar New Year by eating fish for prosperity, and dumplings for wealth. Before the Lunar New Year begins, cleaning the house and washing her hair is very important. “You don’t want to sweep the fortunes away!” said Cheung.  

In past Lunar New Year celebrations, the sound of firecrackers signified a very important gathering moment. As a little kid in the 1980’s, she recalls fond memories of sitting with her extended family at the kiddie table. “Everyone wanted a seat at the Fisher Price blue table, and no one wanted to sit with the adults,” said Cheung. When Cheung was younger, she and her grandmother prepared desserts like rice cakes. Now, as a testament to her family’s love for sweets, Cheung brings a banana cream pie. While the pie might not be traditional, it is just as auspicious.

Jackie Nguyen ’18

Jackie Nguyen’s Lunar New Year table
Jackie Nguyen’s Lunar New Year table.

One of Jackie Nyguyen’s favorite Lunar New Year traditions is cooking at home, and she always makes thit kho (caramelized pork and eggs). The process of making it might be tedious, but her dad taught her how to make this delicious dish so Nguyen is always careful when browning the sugar. Some of Nguyen’s other favorite dishes include bánh tét (savory but sometimes sweetened Vietnamese cake) and bánh chung (Vietnamese food made with glutinous rice, mung beans, and pork). Nguyen and her family also share watermelon with those who are deemed lucky depending on the Zodiacs. If the watermelon is sweet, they’ll have a prosperous year. If the watermelon is bland, they light off another firecracker.

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