Chinese Spring Festival Celebration and the Lunar New Year
On Feb 17th, the Chinese language program, sponsored by the Center for the Study of Asia and BU Study Abroad, hosted the Spring Festival celebration. The Spring Festival is the celebration of Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year. It is the most important holiday of the year – a time for family to come together in the tradition of honoring gods and ancestors. The Spring Festival is typically celebrated from New Year’s Eve (in the lunar calendar) to the 15th day of the first month of the New Year. Chinese language program faculty hosted activities including calligraphy, traditional painting, paper cutting, Majiong, and karaoke, as well as cultural performances. About 100 students celebrated Chinese New Year with us, experiencing some traditional holiday arts and fun.
WLL Student Charlie Tran writes: “On February 17 , I attended the Chinese Spring Celebration Festival held at the BU Photonics Building. I was surprised by this event because people were eating, talking, and creating a lively atmosphere which made the event really feel like a mini festival even though it was just in a small room. There were several tables around the room, each with different activities from Chinese culture people can try out. The event included mahjong, calligraphy, snacks, karaoke, and painting. Although I did not do karaoke, it was exciting (and funny) hearing students try to sing in Chinese, especially since most of them are still learning the language. Participants get free chopsticks with a special design, so even if they sung bad, it would be worth it. My favorite table would be the mahjong table because I always had an interest in learning the game. They taught me the basics of how to play and set up the game, and I got to compete against other newbies. I am not taking Chinese language classes, but the things I experienced from the calligraphy table could be brought into Japanese. For example, I really learned just how important stroke order and stopping/releasing is when writing kanji. Using a real brush gives a different experience and beauty to kanji that I have not felt before when writing with a pencil. All in all, I enjoyed this culture pass event.”
Check out the fun video blog from the event below!