You may have already celebrated the New Year at the beginning of this month, but there’s another new year coming up next week: the Chinese Lunar New Year. It’s also commonly known as the Spring Festival, as it falls on the new moon around the end of January and beginning of February every year. This year, the Lunar New Year falls on February 5th, so this week on the blog, we’re taking a look at some of the holiday’s traditions and how to celebrate with your very own Chinese New Year modern kimono robes.
You might be wondering how modern kimono robes and the Chinese New Year fit together. For our founders, Tiffany and Renee Tam, the journey through Asian culture has been a lifelong trek. Traditional Japanese kimonos were heavily influenced by Han Chinese clothing worn during the Chinese Qing Dynasty. While the influences from both countries created different patterns and features, the kimono fabric has traditionally been made of satin weaves or silk, which is what we use today in many of our modern collections. As children, Tiffany and Renee traveled to Asia with their parents and picked up influences from artisans across the region. These influences stayed with them as they designed modern kimono robes and built their business in their second home in San Francisco: Chinatown.
One of the most important colors in Chinese culture is red. It symbolizes happiness, fortune, wealth and longevity. For this reason, it’s a huge part of the Lunar New Year. When gifts are exchanged during the Spring Festival, children often receive red envelopes with money in them to symbolize that good fortune. We love using this color whether it’s in a red kimono robe or an accent. Wearing red Chinese kimono robes or other clothing during the Lunar New Year is traditionally believed to bring you good luck.
This holiday was traditionally a time to honor deities and ancestors, although regional customs always vary widely. Many times the night before the Lunar New Year, families will extensively clean the house to get rid of any bad fortunes, decorate windows and doors with red paper decorations, and get together for a big family dinner. Whether you go to the same extent or not, you can absolutely glean inspiration from the idea of starting anew, opening up the windows and doors to let some fresh (cold!) air in, and sitting down to eat with the people you love.
If a red kimono isn’t your style, one of our favorites for this time of the year is a pink kimono robe with the red details of cherry blossoms and cranes. Cherry blossoms traditionally symbolize love and strength, while cranes represent longevity and happiness. The combination of the meaningful designs and red color on the backdrop of this gorgeous, soft pink kimono robe makes it a perfect choice for the Lunar New Year.
We hope this Lunar New Year brings you lots of good fortune, happiness and, of course, Chinese New Year kimono robes to bring a little more luxury into your every day.
