The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is a celebration of tradition and family that extends across the globe. Each year is associated with the Chinese Zodiac and this is the Year of the Dog. This year, Chinese New Year’s Eve falls on Feb. 15 and the celebration lasts until Feb. 21.
The holiday centers on family and food with this being the time of year people take a break from school and work in China. A delicious tradition includes lucky foods such as noodles, dumplings and Nian Gao cake.
There are countless traditions surrounding the holiday and here at NC State, there are many ways to celebrate and learn more about Chinese culture.
The Cultural Exchange Network will be holding an event Monday night to celebrate the holiday with food, friends and an informative presentation. The event will be in University College Commons rooms 104 and 106 at 5:30 p.m. There will be traditional Chinese food catered from Beansprout Chinese Restaurant. Anyone looking to gain insight into a new culture and snack on some delicious food should check it out.
Sam LaFell, a fourth-year studying communication and Spanish, is the president of the Cultural Exchange Network. He said the purpose of the network is to give people a glimpse into other cultures without bombarding them with information.
“The Cultural Exchange Network likes to facilitate the exchange of cultures between domestic and international student populations,” LaFell said. “This event is more focused on the cultural exchange or learning about another culture, but there will still be that social element that we try to always include.”
LaFell said he encourages students who are unfamiliar with the holiday to attend the event.
“When we started thinking about planning the event, I knew nothing about the Chinese New Year,” LaFell said. “Just doing research, I learned a lot and I gained a lot. I hope people will come ready to learn about something they don’t know about.”
LaFell said he hopes that students take away a new knowledge of the holiday and understanding of an aspect of Chinese culture.
“I hope people can leave and summarize why the Chinese New Year is celebrated,” LaFell said. “I think a lot of people in America are like ‘Why is their new year different than ours? Why do they do it? What are these festivals?’ I want people to understand why it happens, what goes on and the significance. People who come to our events are usually open minded as they’re trying to learn about other cultures, but I really want them to engage with it and have fun.”
There’s another event on campus with the Chinese Undergraduate Student Association that will bring together NC State’s Asian community to celebrate Chinese New Year’s Eve.
Kevin Zhang, a fourth-year studying statistics, is the president of the association. Zhang said the event’s purpose is to bring people together to learn, eat and just hang out with friends.
“We’re planning to bring together a bunch of different Asian organizations together and celebrate,” Zhang said. “Our plan for the event is we’re going to give them a table where they can have their own cultural-related games. People can come in, play and receive tickets. We’ll have a giant table of prizes that people can redeem the tickets from.”
In addition to prizes, the association plans to have food and entertainment for people to enjoy as they walk around the carnival of cultures.
Zhang said the goals of the Chinese Undergraduate Student Association relate to its event.
“We are an organization about celebrating Chinese culture and we aim to bring Chinese students and anyone who would be interested in anything Chinese together to build better connections between them,” Zhang said.
Zhang said he hopes students attending the event can get a feel for how important this holiday is in China and people walk away with a sense of Chinese culture and customs.
“Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday in all of China,” Zhang said. “In December, we get a month off. In China they get a few weeks off for Chinese New Year. It’s like their version of Christmas. Since it’s their biggest holiday, we try to make it our biggest event as well. Our goal is to celebrate Chinese culture.”
The event will be held in Carmichael Recreation Center’s Playzone Feb. 15 from 7-8:30 p.m. All students are encouraged to come to the event to gain an understanding for different Asian cultures and the traditions of the Chinese New Year.
