Korean Heritage: Korean and American New Year Traditions: “Happy New Year”

Every society marks the beginning of a new year, but the ways in which it is celebrated differ across cultural contexts. Korea’s Lunar New Year, seollal, is a traditional holiday centered on ritual, while the New Year in the United States can be described as a form of everyday culture centered on celebration. This distinction highlights the clear differences between the two.

In Korea, seollal is a traditional holiday in which a variety of customs and rituals come together, including ancestral rites, seasonal foods, New Year’s bows, and words of blessing. Through customs that have been passed down differently by region, families and communities pray for peace and well-being, maintaining social order and communal bonds. Because these practices have been transmitted within a shared framework of meaning inside Korean society, seollal demonstrates its value as a form of cultural heritage.

By contrast, the New Year in the United States unfolds within a continuous festive flow that begins with Christmas, moves through the end of the year, and leads into the New Year. Parties and gatherings are held among families, workplaces, and local communities, and everyday acts such as exchanging cards or sharing homemade cookies naturally take place.

Rather than following fixed rituals, the American New Year focuses on personal resolutions and interpersonal connections. Although the New Year traditions of the two countries differ in form and practice, they share a common meaning: reflecting on the past year, welcoming a new one, and wishing well-being for one another. However, Korea’s seollal is distinguished by the way this meaning has been passed down through rituals, customs, and communal commitments, in contrast to the American New Year, which develops as a lifestyle-based celebration.

When I arrived in Columbus, Ohio, in late December 2025, greetings of “Happy New Year” were naturally exchanged in everyday spaces such as the airport and on the streets. The director of the East Asian Studies Center at The Ohio State University, whom I met at the airport, and travelers I encountered at a hotel on New Year’s morning shared New Year’s greetings by offering homemade cookies. Through these ordinary moments of hospitality and sharing, I was able to experience the distinctive character of the American New Year. Observing the festive nature of the American New Year invites reflection on how we have come to observe seollal. Has it become something we merely “perform,” while its aspect as a celebration to be enjoyed has gradually faded? Not all traditions need to be preserved exactly as they were in the past, but when their core values and meanings are maintained, the significance of heritage becomes clearer. If seollal can expand beyond a traditional holiday into a shared space for welcoming a new year together, it can continue to hold clear meaning as a living heritage.