How Designer Sandy Liang Rang in Lunar New Year

Dinner on Saturday was a very intentional—and delicious—spread. “It’s the same food every year, and there’s a specific number of dishes,” says Liang of her family meal. “A specific number of dishes have to be vegetables, meat, or fish.” On the menu was braised mushrooms with fat choy, as well as a whole fish. “It’s really important in Chinese culture that you see the whole animal from start to finish,” says Liang. For dessert, meanwhile, they indulged in Tangyuan. “They’re like these little Mochi rice balls,” says Liang. The dress code for the evening? It wasn’t too strict—just to wear red, which represents good luck, somewhere in the ensemble. “It has to be something new—a new red sweater, underwear, or socks,” says Liang. “It’s always cute to get my dad a red sweater at Christmas, so that he has something to wear on Chinese New Year.”

Rounding out her holiday weekend, Liang then woke up on Sunday morning to red packets of money from her family—which signify good wishes and luck for the year ahead. “You have to give out packets once you’re married, and you can’t receive any more once you’re married either—so I’m trying to prolong my engagement,” jokes Liang. There were also a few superstitions her family adhered to. “You can’t wash your hair [on the first day of the New Year] because you’ll wash away your luck,” says Liang. “You also can’t buy shoes, get a haircut, or do laundry.”