As COVID again spoils traditional Lunar New Year celebrations, Asian-Australians have been forced to keep their usually free-ranging family traditions closer to home.
For Marianne Bogard, who is of Vietnamese and French origin, celebrating both Christmas and Lunar New Year is a highlight because her mixed ethnicity means "double the fun".
However, the Year of the Tiger marks the third year in a row Ms Bogard has missed out on celebrating Tết (Vietnamese for Lunar New Year) with her Vietnamese family in Ho Chi Minh City.
Prior to the pandemic, Vietnam-born but Sydney-based Ms Bogard would visit Vietnam every year with her Vietnamese mother and sister for the three-day celebration to welcome in the new zodiac animal.
'All about family'
Ms Bogard says Tết is all about spending time with family to reconnect.
"I have really missed going to uncles' and aunties' houses to wish them luck and get red envelopes," she said.
"My mum's side of the family in Vietnam is really big — 11 brothers and sisters and their many children — so there are about 30 people coming together to celebrate.
"I have longed for the delicious caramelised pork and eggs — our family's signature for Tết — and missed playing cards, gambling at daytime and clubbing with my cousins at night."
Having moved to Australia in 2013, Ms Bogard realised she had been taking Tết for granted when living in Vietnam.
"I didn't appreciate Tết as much until I moved to Australia, because unless you live in Cabramatta (a predominantly Vietnamese community in Sydney), you don't get to experience the festivities and the joy it brings," she said.
"The plan for this year was just to go to yum cha in Cabramatta, then go to the temple during the day and have friends over for food and drinks at night."
COVID-safe Chinese New Year
Malaysian-Australian Robert Hum's eldest son and daughter-in-law were unable to make it to Melbourne for the family's annual Chinese New Year family reunion.
"While I am sad to not see my eldest son's family, ensuring everyone stays healthy and COVID-free is of utmost importance with the continuation of COVID-19 into 2022," Mr Hum said.
He said one of his biggest disappointments was missing out on playing Mahjong with his family for a third consecutive year.
"When I was a five-year-old in Kuala Lumpur (in 1961), one of the most fun activities was playing Mahjong, and now it is an opportunity to talk about family topics like your children's career and cheapest food to buy."
Mr Hum said Chinese New Year was an "auspicious occasion" and it was important for every family member to try to come together.
"We are having a smaller crowd at home and making sure everyone takes a rapid antigen test and receives a negative result before joining family activities," he said.
"We will still maintain the Chinese traditions of giving Ang Pow (red packets) to my children, even though they are adults and asking younger ones to wish all elder family members a happy and prosperous year."
Not everyone can celebrate
While others are out celebrating the new year, Burwood man Qi Wei will be at home as a mark of respect for his father, who passed away in October from COVID.
Mr Wei, from China's Guangzhou province, will follow the cultural practice of refraining from visiting his friends and relatives during Chinese New Year.
"Visiting relatives and friends during this period will bring bad luck to them, so we avoid seeing during Lunar New Year unless absolutely necessary."
Mr Wei said he would still make dumplings with his children the way his father taught him ito welcome in the new year.
Mr Wei's family restaurant experienced a 50-per-cent decline in revenue in 2021. He said the approaching Lunar New Year was causing stress for his family.
"We were very worried about the costs of extravagant gifts and red packets after such a difficult year."
"It has taken a big load of pressure off our shoulders."
Blast from the past
Mr Binh Nguyen from Vietnam said staying in Australia during Lunar New Year allowed him to watch an organised display of firecrackers, a spectacle he had not experienced since childhood.
"Vietnam banned the use of explosives including firecrackers due to fire national security concerns over two decades ago.
"Children of my generation used to have an absolute blast when the firecrackers went off and I could hear that exciting sound again at the Vietnamese Embassy in Australia this year.
Mr Nguyen drove nearly 300 kilometres from Sydney to Canberra for this year's Vietnamese Embassy's Tết party.
"It was a wonderful chance to gather with Vietnamese students and communities from all around Australia.
"We gathered with some local and international friends to enjoy the delicacies of my homeland such as banh chung (sticky rice cake stuffed with pork and mung bean), authentic nem (Vietnamese spring rolls) and banh cuon (steamed rice rolls)."
