CARL AZUZ: It's great to have you catching up on world events

with CNN 10.

I'm Carl Azuz with your daily down the middle explanations

of what's happening.

Every year the United States around the time

of the Super Bowl, there's a type of political Super Bowl

that takes place.

It's not an election.

It's an annual speech the US president

gives to a joint session of the US Congress.

And what that means is that representatives and senators

are there along with their guests.

There's a great deal of tradition that surrounds

the State of the Union address.

It's given annually.

It's delivered in person.

It's broadcasted on TV and online.

It's followed by a speech from the political party

that opposes the president.

But none of this is required by the Constitution.

It says only that the president shall from time to time

give to the Congress information of the State of the Union

and recommend to their consideration

such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.

Presidents could just send Congress a letter.

And several American leaders have.

But giving the speech live before Congress

and the American public allows modern presidents to personally

let people know what they want to do and why

and try to build support for their goals.

That's why State of the Union speeches

like the one that President Donald

Trump delivered last night usually

cover a range of subjects.

DONALD TRUMP: And my fellow Americans,

we meet tonight at a moment of unlimited potential.

As we begin a new Congress, I stand

here ready to work with you to achieve historic breakthroughs

for all Americans.

The agenda I will lay out this evening

is not a Republican agenda or a Democrat agenda.

It's the agenda of the American people.

Many of us have campaigned on the same core promises

to defend American jobs and demand fair trade

for American workers, to rebuild and revitalize our nation's

infrastructure, to reduce the price of health

care and prescription drugs.

In just over two years since the election,

we have launched an unprecedented economic boom,

a boom that has rarely been seen before.

Members of Congress, the state of our union is strong.

[APPLAUSE]

An economic miracle is taking place in the United States.

And the only thing that can stop it

are foolish wars, politics, or ridiculous

partisan investigations.

[APPLAUSE]

If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot

be war and investigation.

Now Republicans and Democrats must

join forces again to confront an urgent national crisis.

Congress has 10 days left to pass a bill that

will fund our government, protect our homeland,

and secure our very dangerous southern border.

Now is the time for Congress to show the world that America is

committed to ending illegal immigration

and putting the ruthless coyotes,

cartels, drug dealers, and human traffickers out of business.

Most of the people in this room voted for a wall,

but the proper wall never got built. I will get it built.

CARL AZUZ: OK.

Speeches like that one have been televised since 1947.

Another tradition carried on last night began in 1966.

That's when two Republican lawmakers

gave a response to the democratic president's speech.

Since then, the opposing party has gotten the chance

to outline its priorities often immediately

after the presidential address.

President Trump is a Republican.

So a Democrat named Stacey Abrams was chosen

to give her party's response.

She's from Georgia.

She was the Democratic nominee for governor

in last year's race.

She lost the election but received national media

coverage and got the chance to speak to the nation last night.

STACEY ABRAMS: Our most urgent work

is to realize America's dreams of today and tomorrow,

to carve a path to independence and prosperity

that can last a lifetime.

Children deserve an excellent education from cradle

to career.

We owe them safe schools and the highest standards

regardless of zip code.

From now on, our leaders must be willing to tackle gun safety

measures and face the crippling effect of educational loans,

to support educators and invest what

is necessary to unleash the power

of America's greatest minds.

Under the current administration,

far too many hard working Americans are falling behind,

living paycheck to paycheck.

Compassionate treatment at the border

is not the same as open borders.

And Democrats stand ready to effectively

secure our ports and borders.

But we must all embrace that from agriculture to health care

to entrepreneurship, America is made stronger by the presence

of immigrants, not walls.

America wins by fighting for our shared values against all

enemies, foreign and domestic.

That is who we are.

And when we do so never wavering,

the state of our union will always be strong.

- 10 second trivia.

On what calendar is the current year numbered 4717?

Lunar calendar, Jewish calendar, Islamic calendar,

or Julian calendar?

As of Tuesday, it was the Lunar Calendar

or the Chinese Lunar solar calendar

that entered year 4717.

CARL AZUZ: Many Asian countries observe Lunar New Year.

But it's in China, the world's most populated nation,

that the world's largest human migration takes place as people

go home for the new year.

We covered the impact on travel on January 25th at cnn10.com.

Today we're looking at some Chinese traditions associated

with the Lunar New Year.

The communist nation is officially atheist.

But many Chinese practice Buddhism

and folk religion according to the US

Central Intelligence Agency.

And that's influenced Lunar New Year customs.

ANDREW STEVENS: Chinese New Year or the spring festival

is the biggest celebration of the year for the Chinese.

It's a time when traditionally business comes to a halt.

And the focus turns to the home and to the family

and of course appeasing the gods.

So what do you need and where do you go?

We're here at a typical Chinese market.

And one of the first things anyone will buy is a fai chun.

These you will find on the front door of people's homes.

This is a traditional welcome spring fai chun.

But perhaps the most important part of Chinese New Year

certainly for many Chinese is the red packet,

the lai see packet.

Into one of these, you will insert a

crisp, preferably new banknote.

Traditionally, the married gives it to the unmarried

and the younger generation.

How much?

Well, that all depends on how well you know that person

and of course how rich you are.

And then there's the flowers.

They are very important and perhaps none more

important than the tangerine.

Now the Chinese word for tangerine

rhymes with luck and as you see, very, very popular,

as are the chrysanthemums.

These are a sign of a good harvest,

a good income all year round.

And the narcissus not much to look at.

But this actually blossoms during Chinese

New Year, which means health, good luck, and liveliness.

And it's always a good idea to buy new clothes.

And the reason is--

thank you very much--

because-- you've probably guessed it--

it brings good luck.

CARL AZUZ: Today I learned that the average avocado

weighs around six ounces.

Not this beast.

It's closer to six pounds.

For years, a local farmer has been bringing fruit like this

to a hospital in Hawaii just to share.

The Guinness World record for largest avocado

is five pounds, eight ounces.

So these may very well beat that.

The farmer says gigantic alligator pears, as they're

also called, have been growing on a tree

his brother planted in 1941.

As some people put it, holy guacamole!

If you find that fruit appealing,

it's enough to salad bowl you over.

He should write a book on the avoca-dos

and avoca-don'ts of growing them.

It's enough to make other farmers green with envy.

I'm Carl Azuz.

And that's CNN 10.