Univ. groups celebrate Chinese New Year
For roughly 20 percent of the world’s population, today marks the first day of the year 4076.
Based on the lunar calendar, the Chinese New Year is the largest holiday in Chinese and Chinese-influenced cultures.
“It’s just like Christmas in the Western culture – it is the most important official holiday,” said Chung-An Chen, a University Chinese instructor from Taipei, Taiwan. “We have a long vacation for more than one week or so. If you work out of town, you go back to see relatives.”
CHINESE NEW YEAR
Festival sponsored by CASA and CSU
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: University Chapel
Cost: Free
2008 is the year of the rat according to the Zodiac cycle.
To celebrate the holiday, the Chinese Student Union, Chinese American Student Association and the Asian Children Mentoring Program will host festivities this weekend.
ACMP will host a New Year festival at the Bogart Community Center on Saturday.
CHINESE NEW YEAR TRADITIONS
Red Envelopes: “Nian” is the Chinese word for year. According to folk tales, Nian is also a monster that appears whenever the new year comes. Parents scare their children by saying they should bribe Nian with money so that he will not hurt them. Thus, parents give their children red envelopes with money inside.
Firecrackers: Firecrackers are lit to scare away any evil spirits from affecting the coming year.
New Year’s Eve feast: Like black-eyed peas and collard greens in Western culture, fish is the traditional lucky food to eat on New Year’s Eve. This is because of the pronunciation. It means in another character “surplus,” usually referring to a surplus of money.
-Special thanks to Chung-An Chen for this information.
Established in 2006, ACMP strives to reconnect adopted Asian children with their original cultures by assigning them to student mentors.
The festival is a chance for new mentors to meet their families and establish a relationship.
“When they grow up, they will start wondering about their culture and they might start to ask questions,” said Ping Ma, president of ACMP. “It’s important to know about your origins.”
For the college age set, CASA and CSU will host a show entitled “Journey to the Forbidden City” at the University Chapel on Sunday night.
The show features performances by the Atlanta Chinese Dance Company as well as student talent.
The dance company will perform two traditional dances, “Dance of the Manchurian Concubine” and “Flying Celestials.”
“My purpose of having this company is to show authentic Chinese dance,” said Hwee-Eng Lee, dance instructor for ACDC. “We try to maintain the style and preserve the meaning.”
For Lee, dance is a way for her students to gain pride in their heritage.
“It is important as a Chinese-American here to understand the Chinese cultural values. I see my dancers learning Chinese, (and) they begin to understand the root of themselves,” she said.
The show also will incorporate modern elements of Chinese culture, including pop-song performances and a spoof of the popular Chinese movie, “Infernal Affairs.”
“Because Chinese are becoming more modern, we have to show some modern aspects,” said Babay Su, the public relations chair for CASA and a senior advertising major. “This is the year that China hosts the Olympics.”
Though both events cater to different age groups, the same purpose seems to run through all the organizations participating. The Chinese New Year represents an important bond to their heritage.
“Growing up here, you get absorbed into the Christmas culture, you’re speaking English all the time,” Su said. “It’s important to maintain some part of your ancestry.”
