SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Lunar New Year Festival returned to City Heights in person for the first time since 2020. The festival opened its gates Friday at Officer Jeremy Henwood Park and continues through the weekend.
Lunar New Year officially begins on February 1. It’s a celebration, the year of the tiger. If you were born in 2010, 1998, 1986, and so on you are a tiger. In the Chinese zodiac, the year you're born in takes on the traits of the animal.
From performances to displays that brings you right to Vietnam, for many it’s a little taste of home.
San Diego's annual Lunar New Year Festival kicked off this weekend ahead of the Feb. 1 holiday. From music to delicious food, people came out to truly celebrate 2022 and the year of the tiger.
"I can embrace my culture and represent the Vietnamese side of my family," said an attendee.
"This was back in the day how we have market. We just sit on the ground on the grass and we start selling things here and there," said Tram Lam, President of little Saigon San Diego.
Lam says this event is to show the rich history of different Asian countries.
"Given the opportunity to understand each other to learn more about our culture and we are able to appreciate differences," said Lam.
And of course, instilling pride from young ones to elders.
Tonight is truly about unity.
Organizers say the most important to all of this is to bring awareness to Asian culture as nearly two billion people across the world will be celebrating Lunar New Year.
WATCH RELATED: Celebrating Chinese Lunar New Year: Year of the Ox (Feb. 2021).