This year’s Lunar New Year and Lantern Festival Gala was a vibrant and festive occasion that took place on Feb. 14 in the Harris Center. Organized by the Chinese Student Association (CSA), the event was a blend of traditional cultural activities, food and live performances that captured the essence of the festival, bringing together students of all backgrounds to experience and appreciate Chinese traditions.
Rain Yan `27 was the lead organizer of the event. The event featured several traditional Chinese activities, including paper cutting and games like ping-pong ball toss. Students were invited to write their own celebratory cards, often accompanied by “red packets” which are a traditional gift of money that symbolizes good fortune for the new year.
“We actually started organizing this event last semester,” said Yan. “We had different table setups with different activities that were related to traditional Chinese things that we do through the New Year.”
One of the activities was a calligraphy station, where participants could try writing Chinese characters on long red scrolls. Typically the characters made up a poem that meant good fortune.
Sally Chen `28 said that she enjoyed the calligraphy table as she used to practice Chinese calligraphy in primary school. “That was my first time in seven or eight years writing again and it turned out really good. So, I was like, ‘I should pick up what I knew.’”
“This is a Chinese activity where we will post those scrolls on our doors for the whole year to give us good luck for the next year,” Yan added.
A highlight of the event was the food. In past years, the CSA would order food from a Chinese restaurant in Iowa City, but this year, after a change in catering regulations due to a past mishap, the CSA worked closely with the school’s catering services to recreate traditional Chinese dishes.
“For some of our dishes, they’re not familiar with how to deal with it so I made some adjustments to make sure they can do it,” said Yan.
The menu included tomato egg, spicy chicken and tofu dishes. Despite a setback in the planning process after a miscommunication led to a delay in securing the food, the event went on. Attendees were able to enjoy not only the food and activities but also a series of performances, including dance routines and singing, some of which were based on traditional Chinese stories, like the tale of the white and green snake, a romantic legend often told around Lunar New Year.
Yan emphasized that the most exciting part of the event wasn’t just the performances or the food, but the sense of togetherness that it brought to the community. “When both Chinese, local and international students gather together in the same area, do the same activities and chat, this kind of atmosphere is what I really enjoyed,” she said. “The main point of this is to get people together.”
In the spirit of inclusivity, the performances weren’t limited to Chinese traditions. Students were encouraged to showcase a variety of talents, whether through songs in English or dances from other cultures.
“I think it exposes them to cultural diversity and helps them become more open minded,” said Tai. “When you learn other cultures, you realize how people live differently, and then you can kind of learn from them and develop empathy on how they think, and you can relate to them more.”
