Year of the Ox: Our Hope for a Year of Hope

March 18, 2021

Chinese-Americans tackled cultural changes this Lunar New Year. I relied on my Mandarin as a bilingual reporting tool — researching, accessing, and interviewing my target community. Will this year’s toned-down celebration permanently tamper with Chinese traditions? How are people virtually celebrating the Year of the Ox? How have traditions been modified? Considering that the ox zodiac sign signifies movement, can Lunar New Year omens and superstitions bring hope for the second half of the year? To vocalize the heartbreak and anger among Asian-Americans, I interviewed an NYU Senior Language Lecturer, an East Asian store owner in NYC's Chinatown, and an NYU Vietnamese student.