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Printer-Friendly ModeYear of the Tiger unleashed
February 8, 2010 —
Thousands of years of tradition came alive in the Student Activity Room on Friday.
The International Programs office teamed up with the Chinese Student Association to bring the Lunar New Year Celebration to SVSU.
Chinese students normally observe this most celebrated national holiday with family. But, far from home, SVSU’s largest international student population found camaraderie and familiar traditions as they brought in the Year of the Tiger.
The two-hour event commemorated the 4,708th year on the Chinese calendar, with cultural traditions, entertainment and refreshments.
“I feel wonderful and very warm,” said Yu Wang, a business sophomore who attended the celebration. “We are not at home this year, and we are not lonely.”
Tze Hua Lee, a physical science laboratory junior sophomore, was also thinking about home. “I have no family [here],” he said, “so my friends are my family.”
In addition, Chinese students shared their traditions with international and domestic students. The event featured a student presentation that shared Chinese New Year hallmarks such as dumplings, a video firework display and gifts of money in red envelopes.
Students and faculty had an auction of Chinese duilian, scrolls of traditional Chinese calligraphy believed to grant luck and happiness if hung on the sides of a front door frame.
Chinese Students Association members performed the song “Happy Chinese New Year,” and attendees also took part in a dumpling-making competition.
“It reminds me of a lot of Chinese memories,” said electrical engineering sophomore Fang Yuan Hou. “But the most exciting part is getting together with my friends. That feels great.”
But Hua Lee said the New Year isn’t celebrated with the same traditions in all countries. “I am from Malaysia and I am Chinese,” he said. “We’re not really into making dumplings, and the fireworks are illegal in my country.”
Jamie Wendorf, a literature and Spanish junior, had another reason to enjoy it. She will be visiting China in May as part of the Roberts Fellowship program.
“I thought they did a wonderful job with the presentation tonight,” she said. “We got a taste of the culture we are about to immerse ourselves in.”
Festive cultural events on campus may have lasting effects on the diverse population. Events such as this one, says nursing sophomore Liu Guang, can increase cultural awareness and understanding — two important factors in international relations.
“I think it is a really fantastic celebration of the Chinese New Year,” Guang said. “International students and Americans can come to learn about Chinese culture. We can learn about each other.”