On February 23, students involved in the Vietnamese Students’ Association and Global China Connection are hosting an event for the Lunar New Year.

This celebration is to honor the start of the new year based on the lunar calendar.

“It marks the beginning of a year according to the lunar calendar (as opposed to the solar, or Gregorian calendar),” Noah Bich Ngoc Nguyen, senior and co-president of the Vietnamese Student Association, said.

The date of the Lunar New Year varies year to year.

“The lunar date is usually 15 days later than the Western calendar, and that’s why the date of holiday vary slightly from year to year. For this year, the Lunar New Year is…[February] 15,” sophomore and president of Global China Connection Runya Xu said.

Since the holiday fell during the first week of second semester, the organizations decided to host the events after the official holiday had happened.

Although the new year is mainly celebrated in China, other countries recognize the holiday.

“[The Lunar New Year] also the most important festival of the year celebrated by China and its geographic neighbors, namely Taiwan, HongKong, Macao, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Mauritius, Australia, and the Philippines,” first year and the Co-President of the Vietnamese Students’ Organization (as well as head of its’ Public Relations/ Media committee) Hung Tran said.

This celebration will be held in the Heritage and Three Crowns Room.

The festivities will include the celebration of this year’s Chinese zodiac.

“We are very glad to be sponsored by the International Cultures Club, the Diversity Leadership Council, and the Center for International and Cultural Education as well as the Crossroads Program. This year, we hope to share with the Gustavus community the celebration of the year of the Dog (according to the Chinese zodiac),” Tran said.

Food, performances and prizes will be amongst the many attractions planed by these student organizations.

“Students should come to learn about culture, traditions, participate in our activities, win prizes, and of course enjoy a good time with food and music,” Bich Ngoc Nguyen said.

On top of the games and performances, there will also be some exciting events.

“We offer…a short educational presentation, two games, and a fashion show,” Xu said.

Students are excited to share this event with the campus and hope that others will learn new and interesting aspects about different Asian cultures.

“This is one of the most beautiful and significant traditions of our culture, and we would love to share it with the Gustavus community…The uplifting and eventful atmosphere and the warmth of people gathering together to celebrate Lunar New Year are probably the reasons why Lunar New Year is such a beautiful and important festival,” Tran said.