Although New Year’s Day has passed, people can still welcome the new year – the Lunar New Year.

Also known as the Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival, it celebrates starting over and welcoming spring. Each Lunar New Year follows the moon’s cycles and is celebrated in China, Vietnam, Korea and other parts of East and Southeast Asia.

The Lunar New Year will last from Thursday to Tuesday and wearing certain colors, such as red, gold, yellow or green, is a tradition which is typically said to bring good luck. A Lunar New Year tradition is to pass out red envelopes, representing good luck being passed down to others and fireworks are also lit to ward off spirits.

A major part of the Lunar New Year is a sense of cleansing. The holiday is meant to symbolize letting go of the past and welcoming the future and the good luck it can bring.

Each Lunar New Year is assigned one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. The cycle goes rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat/ram, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

Each animal appears on a 12-year cycle with this year representing the Year of the Snake. While most Lunar New Year celebrations follow the Chinese Zodiac, some substitute different animals, like how in Japan they use a boar instead of a pig.

Those born under the Year of the Snake are intelligent, even-tempered and goal oriented. They are also said to be emotionally detached and may be distrustful of others.

Michelle Bringas, the director of the Asian American Resource Center, explained what snakes represent and why they are celebrated.

“What this year brings to snakes is to take necessary precautions, balance challenges and stay focused,” Bringas said. “Snakes represent the value of wisdom, transformation, calm and creativity.”

There are five elements assigned to the animals: wood, fire, earth, metal or water. This year’s element is wood.

 Matt Caro, a psychology senior, reinforces that the best way to celebrate is to practice celebrating, both physically and spiritually and considers the elements to be an integral part of the Lunar New Year.

 “A big part of Lunar New Year is prayer,” Caro said. “The elements unite into a uniform entity and if everyone does their part, it can create something beautiful.”

Christina Carpio, the associate director for the Asian American Resource Center, expressed her joy at how widespread the Lunar New Year is.

“I’ve been doing programming for college communities since my career in higher education and it’s awesome to see the growth for holiday worldwide,” Carpio said. “We’re seeing companies promoting the Lunar New Year. It’s a part of family who celebrate with traditions and it’s great to see the growth.”