Dancers and martial artists flew through the air under red lanterns and lighting as the Association of Chinese Americans rang in the Lunar New Year on Friday with its annual celebration.

The event, hosted in Covel Commons in collaboration with UCLA Residential Life, brought students from different backgrounds together to celebrate the new year. The event included a presentation on the cultural significance of the Lunar New Year in various countries, including China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan and Mongolia. Students from UCLA Wushu performed their martial arts routine and drummers from the Japanese student ensemble Kyodo Taiko played for the attending UCLA students, followed by traditional dances from the Chinese Cultural Dance Club and the Association of Indonesian Americans.

Andrew Nguyen, a third-year psychobiology student and staff member of ACA, said the event allowed students who might not be able to go home for the holiday the opportunity to celebrate.

“It’s a good way for people to celebrate their culture and have a bit of home when they aren’t able to go back home for such a major holiday, especially within the Asian communities,” he said.

Angela Song, a second-year molecular, cell and developmental biology student, said she attended the event out of a desire to connect with her heritage. She found the event through ACA’s Instagram post and wanted to feel more connected to her Chinese heritage by attending.

Sohum Bhargava, a second-year molecular, cell and developmental biology student, added that the free food was another feature of the festival that attracted students from all backgrounds. Students could choose from foods such as chow mein, spicy tofu with eggplant, teriyaki chicken, and beef and broccoli, as well as a boba milk tea provided by sponsors.

To get the free food, however, students had to receive a certain number of stamps on a card. These stamps could be earned by participating in the many different activities offered by the different cultural associations.

These activities included folding origami cranes, making traditional Chinese fans, Wayang Potehi – a puppetry tradition brought to Indonesia by Chinese immigrants – and bầu cua cá cọp, a traditional Vietnamese game. Song said her favorite activity at the event was a calligraphy station because she learned to write her own name in the style.

Cassidy Cheng, a fourth-year business economics student, said she believes everyone should be able to take pride in their culture, adding that seeing the UCLA community come together for Lunar New Year was very special to her.

“Seeing everyone being willing to learn more about their culture through different activities that we’re doing, and then also spending time with friends and family, I think, has really been helpful in getting us to be more together during this holiday,” she said.

Elisa Xu, a third-year psychology student and former ACA staff member, said she hopes the university will plan even more future events while continuing to remain culturally conscious.

While UCLA Residential Life aided ACA in preparing for the event, Xu said she believes UCLA could be more supportive by being proactive in providing spaces for cultural events without organizations having to lobby for them. ACA was responsible for reserving the venue, preparing the food, finding sponsors and contacting different cultural organizations around campus, Nguyen added.

Nguyen said he felt the event was a success and was happy to see UCLA students gather for the celebration of the new year. Bhargava added that the event helped him to learn more about Lunar New Year.

“America has been termed as a melting pot,” Bhargava said. “Having these events will help us learn to appreciate different cultures (and) know that they’re distinct, yet everyone can appreciate them.”