Minsi Hall Hosts Chinese New Year Celebration

Students enjoy the Chinese New Year celebration. Photo Courtesy / Mengchen Wang Students enjoy the Chinese New Year celebration. Photo Courtesy / Mengchen Wang
Students enjoy the Chinese New Year celebration. Photo Courtesy / Mengchen Wang
Students enjoy the Chinese New Year celebration.
Photo Courtesy / Mengchen Wang

By Mengchen Wang
Contributing Writer

The Lunar Chinese New Year, also known as “Chun Jie,” “Spring Festival,” is the most important holiday to all Chinese people from China and overseas.

Nowadays, with more and more people interested in Chinese culture, Chinese New Year is embraced by people from different cultural backgrounds.

On Monday, Jan 30, a Chinese New Year celebration was held in the student lounge at Minsi Residence Hall.

The celebration was held by Derek G. Hess, the Minsi Hall Resident Director, and was helped by a Chinese graduate student Wenxiao Shang.

Students enjoy the Chinese New Year celebration. Photo Courtesy / Mengchen Wang
Students enjoy the Chinese New Year celebration.
Photo Courtesy / Mengchen Wang

The lounge was decorated with red ribbons, “Luck” posters, and lanterns in accordance with the Chinese New Year theme, red.

The event started with an introductory video on the traditions and customs of the spring festival, the origins of the Chinese zodiac, red envelope, and so on.

Afterward, Wenxiao taught all the students some basic Chinese phrase, such as “Chun Jie” (Chinese New Year), “Guo Nian Hao” (Happy Chinese New Year), and “Fu” (Luck).

Hess also prepared the “red envelope” for students, representing luck, wealth and good wishes. The celebration was highlighted with Chinese calligraphy and Chinese food.

Shang demonstrated how to use a writing brush to write “Fu” (Luck) and “Chun” (Spring) to people. Many students wrote their own luck and spring.

According to Chinese Lunar New Year tradition, posting “Fu” and “Chun” written on red paper on walls and doors represents the wishes that luck and spring will be all around in the coming year.

Through this celebration, students at ESU were able to experience and appreciate Chinese culture, enjoy Chinese food, and write their own “Fu” and “Chun.”

Chinese students also felt the warmth and sweetness of celebrating Chinese tradition on the foreign land. It was a wonderful and lovely evening very well enjoyed.

Email Mengchen at:
mwang@live.esu.edu