Asians Start Celebrating New Year’s in Old Ways : Culture: Rituals, and even the dates of the holiday, vary by nation of origin. The Japanese had theirs already--on Western New Year’s.

A week from today, Korean American children will take a moment to bow to senior citizens at the Garden Grove Community Meeting Center, displaying respect for their elders in a New Year’s ritual that will accompany traditional Korean dances and tea ceremonies. An estimated 400 people at the festival will feast on bulgogi (barbecued beef) and kimchi (pickled cabbage) .

This weekend, thousands of visitors to the Vietnamese Community Center in Santa Ana and Golden West College in Westminster will eat spring rolls with fish sauce and watch “dragons” dance in honor of Tet, the Vietnamese new year.

And at Irvine Valley College, Mandarin-language hip-hop music blared as students ate egg rolls and women donned Ming Dynasty gowns of red and gold in a Chinese new year celebration held Wednesday, eight days early.

From the well-known Tet festivals to the less-famous Cambodian rituals, many Orange County Asian groups will celebrate the lunar new year in upcoming days. But the traditions they observe will be as diverse as the nations they represent.

“It’s the most important (holiday) for many Asian cultures, regardless of when (and how) they celebrate it,” said Audrey Yamagata-Noji, a trustee of the Santa Ana Unified School District. “There are certain customs, superstitions, meanings. For many Asian groups it’s the most critical celebration of the year.” Some Asian Americans will not celebrate at all this month.

Japanese Americans won’t be drinking the traditional New Year’s Eve toso sake (rice wine) or eat toshikoshi (crossing the year) buckwheat noodles on Feb. 9. While the Japanese observed the lunar new year in years gone by, they have long since adopted the Western calendar--in Japan as well as the United States.

“I never heard of any Japanese American group (in Orange County) celebrating (the lunar new year),” said Junko Fuji, who teaches Japanese language and culture at several Orange County community colleges. “In Japan, in remote countryside areas, they might occasionally.”

For Cambodian and Thai groups, planning for the New Year’s celebration hasn’t even begun. Those groups celebrate the new year for three days beginning April 13.

The “lunar year in Cambodian and Thai cultures is different,” said Vora Kanthoul, head of the United Cambodian Community. April in Cambodia and Thailand is the hottest month, a time of relaxation and vacation after the harvest and before May rains, he said.

In those three days, people visit Buddhist temples and pray, share food and play traditional games such as Cambodian choong, (a tossing game) or tug-of-war. Children are expected to pay respect to their elders by sprinkling perfume on them, said Kanthoul.

In Orange County, the best-known festival is the Feb. 13-15 Vietnamese Tet celebration, which includes fireworks, gifts to children of red envelopes containing money, and colorful, traditional costumes.

Chinese Americans here may celebrate the lunar new year together at private banquets, said Frank So, one of the directors of the Orange County Chinese American Chamber of Commerce.

“There’s quite a few Chinese Americans in Orange County, but they’re scattered about,” So said. “They celebrate in their own groups.”

Debra Shen, an Irvine Valley College student who attended Wednesday’s celebration, which was staged by the campus Chinese Cultural Assn., agreed.

“If not for this, I would probably not do anything for the new year, just call my parents (in Taiwan),” she said.

Perhaps, Shen said, she would attend the Little Saigon Tet festivals. “It’s a little different--the language, the food,” she said. “But I like it.”

Lunar Calendar

Chinese legend has it that when Buddha invited all the animals to visit him, only 12 came, led by the rat. The animals were rewarded by having years named after them in the order of their arrival. The legend also holds that a person will exhibit characteristics of the animal attached to the year of his or her birth. The year beginning Feb. 10 is the Year of the Dog. Add in multiples of 12 from the year of your birth to determine which animal applies to you. Here are some of the reputed characteristics of the animals:

1994 Dog: Loyal, altruistic, attentive, guarded, stubborn, a critic.

1995 Boar/Pig: Honest, sociable, cultured, a pacifist, gullible, willful and wimpy.

1996 Rat: Charming, sentimental, industrious, gossipy, neurotic and quick-tempered.

1997 Ox/Buffalo: Patient, selfless, industrious, proud, bossy, vindictive and jealous.

1998 Tiger: Passionate, liberal, gutsy, fortunate, sensitive, undisciplined, conceited, rash and rude.

1999 Rabbit/Cat: Steady, ambitious, friendly, discreet, aloof, sneaky and antisocial.

2000 Dragon: Vivacious, lucky, intuitive, powerful, generous, sharp, impetuous, demanding, judgmental and stubborn.

2001 Snake: Amusing, cultured, calm, deep-thinking, possessive, lazy, vengeful.

2002 Horse: Industrious, independent, strong, eloquent, selfish, rebellious, ruthless and rude.

2003 Sheep/Goat: Stylish, lovable, generous, passive, insecure and pessimistic.

2004 Monkey: Friendly, vivacious, inventive, amusing, independent, opportunistic, devious and unscrupulous.

2005 Rooster: Lively, resourceful, adventurous, pompous, narrow-minded and impractical.

Researched by AILEEN CHO / Los Angeles Times