SLU Students Celebrate the Lunar New Year 8,000 Miles from Home

Near the end of Friday’s Virtual Lunar New Year Celebration, St. Lawrence University students and faculty alike followed a video’s instruction to fold pieces of paper into origami cranes.  According to National Geographic, the famous paper cranes symbolize hope and healing, making them a perfect way to bring a year of heartbreak and loss to a close.

Though origami itself comes from Japan, the Lunar New Year is celebrated in a number of Asian countries including China, Vietnam and South Korea, as well as by many people around the globe.  Also called the Spring Festival, the celebration took place between February 11 and 17 this year, according to The Smithsonian Magazine.

On February 12 at 6p.m., St. Lawrence students and faculty gathered over Zoom to watch and participate in songs, readings, activities and dances.  The event was organized by International Student Services, the Center for International and Intercultural Studies, the Diversity and Inclusion Office, the ASIA club, the I-House, Project Pengyou and members of the Chinese Modern Languages Department.

Tsewang Lama is the Coordinator of International Student Services and one of the organizers of the event, which drew 51 attendees and had 20 panelists.  “My favorite aspect of the event was that we all came together as a community to celebrate lunar, enjoy some performances and share our cultures,” she says.

For many, the Lunar New Year means reconnection with family and renewal.  The celebration takes place between the end of one agricultural season and the the start of another, and often involves cleaning the house, holding a reunion with family and making offerings to ancestors, according to The Smithsonian Magazine.  Other traditions include the lantern festival and exchanging red envelopes filled with money.

Because of the pandemic many international students have found themselves in Canton for longer than they had expected, and some are missing out on the family reunions that this time of year brings.  “The Lunar New Year is a period of time for me to stay with my family,” Zejian Zhou ’21 says.  “Spending Lunar New Year on campus is a difficult time, and if I had a choice, I would not do this.  But I am glad SLU had organized fun activities during the New Year, and it was a great opportunity for me to make connections with others.”  While the event provided some semblance of comfort, the loss felt by students missing out on Lunar New Year at home hasn’t gone away.

While reunion and renewal are values of the Lunar New Year every year, each celebration also invokes a unique animal of the Chinese Zodiac.  “This year is the Year of the Ox,” Associate Dean of International and Intercultural Studies Marina Llorente says.  “The Ox symbolizes energy, strength and courage. These qualities are what the world needs now. We enjoyed wonderful performances about how different cultures in Asia celebrate their Lunar New Year by students and staff. It was an amazing experience where everyone enjoyed very much the celebration wishing all prosperity, health and happiness in the Year of the Ox.”

Among the performances and activities were a fashion show, a video by members of the I-House talking about Lunar New Year events in their countries, songs from the students of Chinese classes and a demonstration on food preparation.  Tristin Turner ’21 sung a song and also participated in the reading of a poem named Jiāng Jìn Jiǔ, which translates to “Bring in the Wine.”  “I thought it was a really fun event and a great opportunity to spread awareness of such an important time of year that is often overlooked in the United States,” Turner says.  “It was also great to represent my Chinese 104 class and SLU’s Project Pengyou chapter.”