Lunar New Year Traditions, Mindfulness, and Grief: Remembering FritzJoy and Rebecca open the Laugh Cry Club episode by wishing listeners a happy Lunar New Year and sharing that they have had a difficult couple of weeks, including the loss of Rebecca’s 12-year-old rescue dog Fritz after a neurological event left him unable to walk.They then discuss Lunar New Year history and meaning, noting it dates back over 3,000 years and marks the end of winter and the start of an agricultural cycle, with traditions such as family reunification (including China’s large annual migration), cleaning the home, settling debts, honoring ancestors, and symbolic foods like dumplings, longevity noodles, and rice cakes. They talk about the zodiac, identify Rebecca as a snake and Joy as a rabbit, and mention 2026 as the (rare) year of the fire horse, associated with independence, vitality, momentum, passion, volatility, impulsivity, and burnout. Rebecca shares a story about frowning fire horse plushies that were produced after a manufacturing mistake.Connecting Lunar New Year customs to mental health, they outline seven traditions with practical reflections: cleaning house as symbolic closure and mental decluttering; reunion meals as belonging and social support; red envelopes as generosity and service (including picking up trash on walks); wearing red as “dopamine dressing” and a mood boost; fireworks as emotional release and collective joy; setting intentions with realistic expectations and self-talk; and honoring ancestors as celebrating identity and gratitude for previous generations. They discuss mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, the challenge of busy minds, and Rebecca’s upcoming full-day virtual mindfulness practice (body scan, mindful eating, and mindful walking), plus a story about a pressure cooker accident as a metaphor for emotional pressure and releasing the “valve.”They close by sharing where to find the podcast, encouraging kindness and reaching out to someone, mentioning daylight savings time approaching, and noting early voting in Texas, including Joy’s enthusiasm for voting and encouragement for listeners to register and vote.00:19 Saying Goodbye to Fritz: What Happened02:36 Grief, Signs, and Oliver’s Mourning05:07 Lunar New Year 101: History, Meaning, and Traditions07:01 Zodiac Talk: Year of the Horse (and Fire Horse Energy)10:52 Rituals for Renewal: Cleaning House → Clearing the Mind11:45 Mindfulness for Busy Minds: Learning to Meditate (Even If You ‘Can’t’)21:15 Reunion, Connection, and Red Envelopes: Belonging + Generosity24:25 Rage, Anger & Responsibility: Don’t Feed the Fire26:41 Think for Yourself: Healing Hurt Without the Hate Machine27:16 Wear Red, Dopamine Dressing & Wearable Affirmations28:39 Fireworks, Catharsis & the Dream of Collective Joy30:45 Online Hate vs. Up Close Humanity (Brené Brown + ‘Man in the Arena’)33:19 Setting Intentions Without ‘Needing’ to Feel Better36:40 Pressure Cooker Emotions: The Chicken-on-the-Ceiling Story38:59 Honoring Ancestors, Identity & Gratitude Across Generations40:24 Wild Detour: Getting Cast on a Canadian Survival Show43:11 Wrap-Up: Resources, Voting, Kindness & See You Next Week