Lunar new year: students celebrate holiday away from home

Chinese students far from home during a holiday when the warmth of family, home-cooked meals and red envelope exchanges are a centerpiece can find a familiar comfort at UCLA’s Lunar New Year Festival.

“(Many) students here don’t have the opportunity to go home and have that traditional celebration,” said San Francisco native Lilly Chang, a third-year psychobiology student and the vice president of the Teo-Chew Association. “In my case, I haven’t been able to see my family on this important holiday for the past three years, so events like this one give me the next best thing to celebrate with friends.”

Chang said the Lunar New Year Festival, organized by five of UCLA’s  Chinese organizations and open to UCLA students, will be better than previous years’ with extra funds put towards food and additional performances, including a traditional Chinese dance by the Chinese Culture Dance Club.

Because of scheduling difficulties, the event will be held today, about a week and a half after February 10th, the actual Lunar New Year.

Belinda Chiu, the cultural chair of the Association of Chinese Americans at UCLA, said this event is meant to bring students, especially those away from home, together at a time of year when kin and camaraderie are considered essential.

“(Lunar New Year) emphasizes a lot about family, and I know every year I eat a big meal with my family members to celebrate togetherness,” said Chiu, a second-year global studies major. “I feel like the Chinese festival that we’re doing right now is trying to do this (here at UCLA).”

Before audiences are served the customary big meal, which will consist of chow mein and fried rice, Chiu said they will be greeted at the entrance with a trivia sheet about the holiday.

Students will bring these questionnaires to different tables where volunteers will provide the answers.

Chiu said one of the questions on the trivia sheet will cover the ancient story of the Jade Emperor’s quest to establish a calendar.

In this tale, Chiu said the emperor told the animals in the kingdom that the first twelve to cross the river would each get a year named after them. This year is the Year of the Snake.

Attendees will also have the chance to work on traditional arts and crafts. Chang said volunteers from her organization will teach people how to make dragon puppets and red envelope lanterns.

In addition to serving as lantern ornaments, these red envelopes themselves are a symbol of luck due to their color, and are traditionally filled with money and given as a token of fortune for the upcoming year.

For Chiu’s family, and many other Chinese families, this tradition is taken a step further.

“(In my family) we usually put money in the red envelopes and we put these underneath our pillow while we’re sleeping,” Chiu said. “This will bring us good luck and fortune for the new year, especially with the money inside.”

As guests partake in these activities, live entertainment will also be provided.

In addition to the Chinese Cultural Dance Club of UCLA, students can watch UCLA Wushu’s martial arts performance, the Taiwanese American Union’s A Capella repertoire and the Association of Chinese American’s Lion Dance group.

Chiu said these performances are meant to bring Chinese guests back to their roots, while also teaching others about the culture.

Charlie Wang, a third-year business economics major and external vice president of the Chinese Student Association, is an international student from New Zealand, and said he believes in the importance of taking the time to celebrate the Lunar New Year and its established values despite being away from home.

“It’s not going to be as big as the typical one you would expect in China or at home,” Wang said. “But it’s a little something to bring people together and remind them that you don’t have to be at home to celebrate and appreciate your culture.”

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