How are muted Lunar New Year festivities impacting family reunions across borders?

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Muted Lunar New Year festivities are disrupting cross-border family reunions by limiting travel and leaving many people unable to gather as they usually do for the reunion dinner.

Chinese New Year is centred on the reunion dinner, when families come together to mark the eve of the new year. In China, people typically travel back to their hometowns for family visits, but Covid-19 restrictions have made that travel difficult. In Singapore and Malaysia, festivities such as lion dances, pineapple tarts and ang pows have also been muted due to Covid-19, adding to the sense that the celebration cannot fully happen without the usual family connection.
Reunion dinner plans are being blocked by travel restrictions
The traditional reunion dinner depends on family members being able to physically reunite. With Covid-19 controls in place, travel back to hometowns in China has proved difficult, preventing many from taking part in the eve celebrations in the way they would in normal years. This disruption affects not only China-based families but also relatives connected across borders.
Malaysians in Singapore face barriers reuniting across the Causeway
Malaysians living in Singapore have struggled to reunite with family across the Causeway. With borders and movement constrained, family members who are separated by geography cannot rely on the usual in-person travel that would allow them to gather for the reunion dinner. The result is a prolonged break in the personal contact that usually anchors the holiday.
Families split across Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and China cannot gather together
Families and friends who are split between Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and China have also struggled to reunite. When people are unable to travel to meet one another, the core human element of the celebration is reduced to limited contact rather than shared time at home. The holiday experience becomes harder to feel fully festive without the in-person presence of relatives.
China’s strict entry and exit controls limit cross-border access
China has imposed strict controls on people entering and leaving the country, making it difficult for Chinese people to travel abroad and for foreigners to enter China. The situation has left many friends and family living in China effectively inaccessible except through messaging, with connections described as being accessible only on WeChat. With this “absence” of cross-border human movement, families across the region have fewer real options to reunite during the Lunar New Year period.

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How are muted Lunar New Year festivities impacting family reunions across borders?

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