ESSX CELEBRATES LUNAR NEW YEAR.





In honor of Lunar New Year, ESSX brings together Jess Xu, Fiona Lou, and Huy Vuy - three individuals from diverse Asian backgrounds - to share their personal connections to this holiday. Through candid conversations, they reflect on the traditions, memories, and cultural significance of Lunar New Year in their lives.

Each look is styled in LU'U DAN's Year of the Snake capsule, blending heritage with contemporary fashion to mark the occasion.

Personal Connection: Lunar New Year is such a meaningful time for many people. Can you share how celebrating it has shaped your personal identity and what it means to you on a deeper level?

Jess: Growing up in China, Lunar New Year was always such a vibrant and meaningful time for my family. I remember the excitement of preparing for the celebration like helping my mom clean the house and hanging up red lanterns. We’d feast on a table full of symbolic dishes, exchange blessings, and enjoy the warmth of being surrounded by family. It felt like a magical reset, welcoming prosperity and joy into our lives.

When my mom and I immigrated to America, those traditions stopped. Without family around, Lunar New Year felt empty, and honestly, I was also trying so hard to assimilate that I rejected so many aspects of my culture. I just wanted to fit in. I distanced myself from the things that made me stand out, and Lunar New Year became just another day on the calendar.

It’s only in the past couple of years that I’ve started celebrating it again. It was a turning point in reconnecting with my roots and embracing my self-identity as a Chinese-American woman. For so long, I thought blending in was the only way to thrive, but now I see that my culture, my story, and my uniqueness are my superpowers. Celebrating Lunar New Year now feels like reclaiming a part of myself—a reminder of who I am and where I come from.

Family Traditions: Every family has their own unique ways of celebrating. What are some of your favorite Lunar New Year traditions or rituals growing up, and do you still carry them on today?

Jess: The traditions in my family stopped when I was about seven, so honestly, I don’t remember much. What I do recall are the little details that made the holiday feel special, like snacking on pineapple cakes and those crunchy, salty and sweet Want Want Shelly Senbei rice crackers. It’s funny how those small moments stick with you, even after everything else fades.

As I reflect on that time, it makes me even more excited about the future. I can’t wait to establish my own Lunar New Year traditions with my future family and kids. It’s important to me that they not only enjoy the celebration but also understand the deeper meanings behind it, like honoring family, welcoming prosperity, and cherishing where we come from. Passing those traditions on will be my way of keeping our heritage alive and creating memories that they can carry forward, even if life takes them far from home.

Cultural Representation: How do you approach showcasing Lunar New Year in a way that’s both authentic and educational for your peers that may not know about it?

Jess: Honestly, I haven’t shared much about Lunar New Year on my platform because I didn’t celebrate it for so many years. It felt like a part of my life that had been on pause, so I didn’t have much to share. But lately, I’ve been reflecting on this more and asking myself how I can honor and represent this part of my culture authentically.

As I begin exploring Lunar New Year again, I’m excited to share what I experience with my audience in real time—whether that’s through revisiting traditions, creating new ones, or diving deeper into the meanings behind them. It’s a journey of rediscovery, and I want to make space for those who might feel disconnected from their roots too. By showing my process, I hope it inspires others to embrace their cultural identity in whatever way feels true to them.

Community and Food: Food often plays a huge role in Lunar New Year celebrations. Are there any special dishes or family recipes you look forward to each year, and what do they symbolize for you?

Jess: Noodles—most definitely noodles! Whether it’s hand-pulled noodles, stir-fried, or a comforting bowl of soup, they’re always a highlight for me during Lunar New Year. Noodles symbolize living a long and fruitful life filled with love, joy, peace, and prosperity. There’s something so special about the way this simple dish holds such deep meaning.

When I was a kid growing up in China, my family would always drive from the city to the countryside to visit my grandparents’ farm. I remember being in charge of cutting up lettuce to feed the ducks, chickens, and pigs. The cold winter air was crisp, and the smell of wood burning to keep us warm still lingers in my mind. The noodles my grandma made were unforgettable. She made them from scratch, and I can still taste the rich, comforting flavor of her cooking. I’m literally salivating just thinking about them!

It’s moments like those that make me realize how deeply connected food is to family, tradition, and culture. Those homemade noodles were so much more than a meal. They were love and care in every bite. Now, noodles always remind me of that warmth and those priceless memories of being surrounded by family.

Evolving Traditions: With younger generations in diasporic communities embracing new ways of celebrating, how do you think we can balance honoring tradition while making Lunar New Year relevant for today?

Jess: I think the key to balancing tradition with modern relevance is connection—connecting with others and learning their stories. Every family and individual brings something unique to how they celebrate Lunar New Year. By sharing these experiences, we can keep traditions alive in ways that feel fresh and meaningful. Whether it’s learning a new recipe, adopting a small ritual, or even creating a new tradition with friends, these shared experiences breathe new life into the celebration. By combining the old with the new, Lunar New Year can stay vibrant, authentic, and meaningful, no matter where we are.

Community and Food: Food often plays a huge role in Lunar New Year celebrations. Are there any special dishes or family recipes you look forward to each year, and what do they symbolize for you?

Fiona: For my family, sweet glutinous rice balls, fish, braised pork, sticky rice meatballs, chicken soup, and dumplings were always on the table – every dish has a tongue in cheek reference to prosperity, good health, happiness, wellness in the coming year, and they’ll always have a special place for me.

Huy: Vietnamese culture has a dish called Bánh chưng which I like to eat and reminds me of home when I do.

Evolving Traditions: With younger generations in diasporic communities embracing new ways of celebrating, how do you think we can balance honoring tradition while making Lunar New Year relevant for today?

Fiona: Just like Christmas in the west, every family and every person from each Asian culture has their own traditions - and as we grow up, we have the freedom to create our own traditions and rituals – we can make it our own! Whatever helps you feel at home at heart should be part of your LNY rituals - especially given that many of us don’t have the privilege to spend it with our families. It’s important that we keep the celebration alive, but the good thing is that it’s ever-changing, and has always been in transformation in the last thousand years, especially for those who immigrate to new places. What’s important is that we always keep celebrating.

Huy: I think it's always important to understand the past and find contemporary ways to interpret it.