When I was growing up in Paraguay, Korean Lunar New Yearcalled Seollalserved as a reminder of my heritage.

We always atetteokguk, a rice cake soup considered the required entry ticket into the new year.

The white rice cakes in the soup are harbingers of prosperity and hopeful new beginnings.

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Simply Recipes / Hennie Haworth

If youre meant to relax on a holiday, my family didnt know anything about that.

On Seollal, we converted our kitchen into an industriousmandufactory.

We set up a hand-cranked pasta machine to roll out sheets of dough.

Braised pork belly for Tết

Simply Recipes / Hennie Haworth

We formed hundreds of dumplingsround ones for soup and half-moon shaped ones for steaming or frying.

We celebrated Seollal by eating them for good luck.

Dumplings filled with pork and cabbage were meant to make us wealthier in the new year.

Illustration of fried fish for Chinese New Year

Simply Recipes / Hennie Haworth

TheLunar New Yearis a holiday celebrated all over Asia and the Asian diaspora.

Its called Chunjie in China, Tet in Vietnam, and Losar in Tibet, among many more.

Across the diverse regions of China, different foods are eaten during the Lunar New Year.

Lunar New Year illustration

Simply Recipes / Hennie Haworth

On Tet, banh chung are placed on shrines to revere ancestors.

They represent earth and symbolize gratitude.

Thats why we asked three of our writers to share their respective traditions, memories, and recipes.

Illustrated ingredients from Lunar New Year recipes and watercolor strokes

Last year was the Year of the Ox.

Now we enter the Year of the Tiger.