Lunar New Year celebrants get no rest after Western holidays

Elisa Aquino of Carson shops at a kiosk owned by Stephani Yuan in Chinatown in Los Angeles. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Dec. 31, 2012 5:09 PM PT

Preparations for the Feb. 10 observance continue full force in the intervening weeks. At crowded shopping plazas, Chinese and Vietnamese consumers are spending big.

Kathy Hong works at Wing Wa Hing Gifts and Arts in Chinatown in preparation for the Lunar New Year. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Tracy Tieu is the owner of Wing Wa Hing Gifts and Arts, which she took over from her father, Sing Tieu. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Lac Tran, 9, enters a shop in Chinatown as families shop in preparation for the Lunar New Year. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

The traditional red envelopes, given with crisp new dollar bills to children by their relatives, are for sale in Chinatown in Los Angeles. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)