This year, the Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival, is on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A 2026 Lunar New Year event was held in downtown Grand Rapids on Saturday to celebrate the upcoming start of the Year of the Horse.
This year, the Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival, is on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
The start of the Lunar New Year is based on the lunisolar calendar, and while it’s said to be the most important holiday in China, it’s also widely celebrated in Korea, Vietnam and countries with a significant overseas Chinese population.
The celebration can last anywhere from three to 15 days, and often includes visiting with family and friends, feasts, fireworks, parties and parades.
On Saturday, Feb. 14, the Grand Rapids Public Library partnered with the Grand Rapids Asian-Pacific Foundation (GRAPF) to host an event with hands-on activities and crafts honoring Lunar New Year traditions.
The event ran from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Yankee Clipper Branch on Leonard Street NE.
“I feel very proud. Very proud that people are willing to come out and learn,” said Ian Varquez, the business and sponsorship development officer of the GRAPF. “And then not just that, just like, I see a lot of little Asian kids here who, they’re learning about their culture as they grow up. And I think that’s a great thing that they learn from the older people in the community, and we’re able to help them out, learn about their culture.”
In addition to the crafts, organizers read Lunar New Year books to the children at the event and talked about their special family traditions.
“I talked about what the Lunar New Year meant to my family. They came through Hong Kong and I was born here in Grand Rapids, and how we celebrated the Lunar New Year,” said Johnny Liu, a volunteer with GRAPF. “It’s nice to share our culture with everyone, stating with them that New Year’s Eve, that the families have a great reunion dinner no matter where they are in the country, they travel, and they meet back at the parents’ home, and they enjoy great feast with food and staying up overnight, sharing stories, playing games and just becoming a family again.”
Liu said he enjoyed talking about his special traditions with the community because of their eagerness to know more.
“It’s nice to share this because Grand Rapids is open to great culture,” he said. “They want to learn. And so it’s nice to share with them what the Asian culture can do to help out with this Grand Rapids community.”
