Chinese New Year
Jan. 28 is the day when the New Year starts for the people of China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and some other Asian countries. This is due to the calendar that Asian countries use. In western countries, people celebrate new year by solar calendar, but for some Asian countries, they celebrate it by lunar calendar dates. On Friday, Jan. 27, a lunar new year celebration will be held in the Student Union from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The college will provide a photo booth, and DJ for the dance party of the celebration. Food will be provided as well. Clubs will be doing some live performances. The lunar new year party is an annual event, and is expected to have 300 to 400 people attending.
Although the New Year has already started in the solar calendar, there is still a chance to make up your new year resolution in the lunar calendar. Taking more time to learn about and appreciate different cultures might be a good resolution for 2017.
Jamie Chen, 19, from Taiwan is going to celebrate this joyful day with his siblings. Planning to prepare classic Taiwanese cuisine, Chen is hoping to have a fantastic time; even though he is away from his home country. “My whole family used to celebrate Chinese New Year at our old place, where it is surrounded with traditional buildings. That place has a lot of traditional surroundings,” Chen said.
The lunar new year has many interesting traditions. Sin Ting Wu, 19, an international student from Hong Kong told about an interesting culture in her home country. “Red pocket money” is given to children from the relatives to send good wishes and luck. Different amounts of money in the envelope have different meanings.
Also, Chen said that there is a ritual that he does each New Year’s Eve. The process includes cleaning the whole house, burning incense, eating traditional food, playing games, receiving red pocket money, and going to sleep.
“The best memory of the celebration is me playing with fire crackers each year,” Wen Qian Chua, 18, from Malaysia said. Chua is a Chinese Malaysian student who is planning to celebrate the joyful day this year away from her home. Celebrating the new year without her family, she felt a pang of loneliness. Even so, she has found friends to celebrate with. The people and the environment around her are different from every year, but she will have an exciting time with lots and lots of laughter.
The lunar new year celebration will provide these students with the opportunity to be engaged with the community when they are away from their families.
