KEITH ENRIQUEZ/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Students wait in
line to buy drinks at the Volcano Tea House during Monday’s
celebration of the Lunar New Year in Westwood Plaza.
By Terri Aquino
Daily Bruin Contributor
Whether it be a celebratory call to parents, the cleaning of
their rooms to dispel bad luck or a dinner with friends, students
away from home are still finding ways to celebrate the Lunar New
Year.
Hundreds of students and members of the Chinese consulate
started the New Year celebration with Asian food, festive costumes,
artwork and traditional lion dances in Westwood Plaza at the
cultural fair Monday.
The event ““ the first of three in a series of week long
celebrations for the Lunar New Year ““ will be followed by the
Taiwanese Culture Night on Wednesday and a joint New Year
celebration with other Asian student groups Thursday.
The Lunar New Year does not pertain to one Asian country, but
encompasses the celebrations of several Asian countries, including
Taiwan and China, which are divided by political and ideological
differences, said Dashew International Center Program director
Marcelo Mitnik.
“It’s taken more than 20 years for UCLA to create a
joint campus event that represented the Lunar New Year among campus
groups,” Mitnik said. “Previously all groups did
celebrations by themselves.”
In the lunar calendar, there are 12 symbolic animals symbolizing
characteristics that range from charm, patience and sensitivity to
emotional and quick tempered.
This year marks the year of the horse, an animal said to bring
success and victory to people, according to Chinese Student
Scholars Association President Victor Liu, whose organization
co-sponsored the event with the Taiwanese-American Union.
Monday’s event was successful because of the diverse
student turnout, Liu said.
“Every student attending will have an eye-opening
experience,” Liu, a third-year graduate student in computer
science, said before the event. “They might have seen the
celebration on TV, but now they can taste the food and see the
sights and have a real life experience.”
The Lunar New Year, based on patterns of solar and lunar
movements, blends blessings and symbolism in the annual celebration
as a recipe for prosperity, Liu said, adding that today marks the
most important holiday in Lunar New Year tradition.
“Like in many other cultures, the celebration got detached
from activities and became more symbolic. It is now the biggest
annual holiday in our culture,” Liu said.
Preparations for the new year generally start a month earlier,
and celebrations last for 15 days after the first day of the new
year, said CSSA Vice-President and media receptionist Tony Lee.
The new year is traditionally highlighted with a religious
ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the
household and family ancestors, said second-year business economics
student Lillian Lok.
“My family is very traditional. We exchange red envelopes
and it is important to wear new clothes on New Year’s Day and
to clean the house to remove any bad luck,” she said.
Red envelopes with money inside are usually given to children or
grandchildren as a blessing for the new year, with red symbolizing
energy and life.
Lee’s family shares similar traditions.
“My family usually buys flowers in celebration of the
upcoming spring,” Lee said. “It’s a time of new
hope where everything comes together.”
Today, the Lunar New Year has also become a celebration of
culture and a time for families and friends to unite and give
blessings for a prosperous year, Lee said.
But with many students away from home, the aspect of a united
family dinner may be compromised.
“I live in Sacramento, so I am going to call them in the
morning. It’s nice to give the first greetings of the new
year to your parents,” Lok said.