Lunar New Year celebration is ‘a family reunion’

Lion dancers make their way up and down the aisles of St. Therese Chinese Catholic Church before a Mass celebrating the Lunar New Year on Feb. 6, 2022. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

Children from St. Therese Chinese Catholic School dance in a baby lion costume, following lion dance procession. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

Father Francis Li, pastor of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta parish, blesses the lion before the dance. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

Children from St. Therese Chinese Catholic School perform a traditional dance before Mass. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

Joy and Kaley Chen watch all the colorful traditions during Mass. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

A lector gives a reading. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

Children from St. Therese School and the parish religious education program carry banners during the offertory procession displaying the gifts they brought to the altar: a Bible, incense, flowers, fruit, rice cake, rice wine, water and wine, and bread. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

Children from St. Therese School and the parish religious education program carry banners during the offertory procession displaying the gifts they brought to the altar: a Bible, incense, flowers, fruit, rice cake, rice wine, water and wine, and bread. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

Children from St. Therese School and the parish religious education program carry banners during the offertory procession displaying the gifts they brought to the altar: a Bible, incense, flowers, fruit, rice cake, rice wine, water and wine, and bread. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

Pastor Father Francis Li raises the incense towards the altar. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

Pastor Father Francis Li raises the host during the eucharistic prayer. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

The church — originally built for an Italian Catholic community — is adorned with traditional Chinese decorations for the Lunar New Year Mass.(Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

Budi, Katharina and Vincent Kusnoto share the Sign of Peace as a family. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

Parishioners bow at the altar of their ancestors at the end of Mass. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)

Redemptorist Father Redempt Jawa distributes red envelopes filled with money or prayer cards to parishioners. The red color symbolizes good luck and prosperity in Chinese and other East Asian cultures. (Karen Callaway/Chicago Catholic)