This opinion column was written by CSSA Vice-President Xiaolu Lin (Olivia) on behalf of the Chinese Scholars and Students Association.
The Lunar New Year celebration is a good demonstration of how culture can overcome geographical and social barriers, meet the social and emotional needs of students, and promote the establishment of communities.
The Lunar New Year has existed in East Asia for thousands of years. Increasingly, Lunar New Year is celebrated all over the world, including at American university campuses.
The Lunar New Year has been branded as “Chinese New Year”. In fact, it is not only China that advocates this festival, but also most of the Asia-Pacific region, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The Lunar New Year is also known by many traditional names, such as Chinese New Year (Chunjie); South Korea’s Seollal; and Vietnam’s Tet Nguyen Dan (a feast on the first morning of the new year).
The importance of the Lunar New Year to many international students (and Asian Americans) makes it a holiday that faculty, counselors, and admissions officers need to understand better.
At the same time, it is an opportunity to build a community for everyone. This sense of community can be found in residential life and student activities.
There are many ways to celebrate the Lunar New Year, including lighting firecrackers, fireworks, and gathering with the family for dinner.
The Dragon and Lion Dance is undoubtedly exotic. However, there are many similarities between the Chinese New Year tradition and western festivals. Having a big meal with family on Thanksgiving, exchanging gifts and blessings at Christmas, lighting the fireworks on the first day of the new year—— these events are part of Chinese New Year celebrations. In addition, the Lunar New Year holiday can be up to two weeks long!
But its profound meaning may be easily overlooked. Most countries in the Western Hemisphere use the Gregorian calendar for holiday arrangements, but the dates of the Chinese New Year do not match the school holidays.
This means that for international students who have celebrated the Chinese New Year since childhood, returning home is not an option. For a culture where filial piety is the root of virtue and philosophy, it is a pity to miss the festive reunion.
As a countermeasure, some Asian students will participate in virtual hometown gatherings via phone or video calls, and organize dinner parties with each other, which will include traditional dishes such as dumplings or rice cakes.
In a word, the new year has arrived, and the new semester is full of energetic expectations and positive energy. We hope everyone has a good and meaningful campus life this new semester!
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