A Special Exhibit in partnership with the Chinese American Community Center
Guest Curator Barbara Chi Hsiao Silber

The Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is the most important holiday in many Asian cultures. Written records suggest that the Chinese tradition of celebrating the Lunar New Year is over 2,300 years old. Although Lunar New Year celebrations vary across communities, expressions of optimistic sentiments and blessings are shared. Activities, foods, and ornamentation that symbolize good fortune, longevity, family, luck, and prosperity are especially meaningful during the Lunar New Year.

This exhibit engages a medley of objects from the collections of the Delaware Historical Society to convey various Lunar New Year traditions. The exhibit invites us to examine objects from multiple perspectives. Individually, the objects reflect and represent the different communities, cultures, contexts, geographic locations, and time periods from which they originated. Together, the objects form an assemblage that illustrates a timeless universal theme – wishes for a happy, healthy, and prosperous year filled with joy.

Guest Curator Barbara Silber is a professional archaeologist and member of the Chinese American Community Center’s program team. Ms. Silber also serves on the New Castle County Historical Review Board and is an adjunct faculty member at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

A Trove of Traditions for the Lunar New Year marks the third year in a row that the Chinese American Community Center and the Delaware Historical Society have partnered to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The exhibit is open during regular Delaware History Museum hours, Wednesday-Saturday, 12-5 p.m.