Ringing in the lunar new year
Time Square it was not.
But participants in this year’s annual Chinese New Year celebration, held Saturday in the Logan LDS Institute cultural hall, were still able to boast a “ringing” good time.
“Tonight was awesome,” said Todd Nye, a sophomore majoring in political science. “It was just so exciting to see different cultures, especially from China.”
Starting sometime in the early ’90s, this annual event has developed a tradition for excellence, and this year was no exception.
Having begun preparations over a month before, the activity was the culmination of lots of hard work aimed at helping members of the Cache Valley community understand more about there Chinese neighbors and have a good time in the process.
Hai Ning Du, one of the organizers of Saturday’s activity, had a fairly clear agenda for the event.
“I hope by attending this party, everyone will learn some Chinese culture, develop interests in China and become greater friends of the Chinese people,” Du said.
As the evening began, party-goers were treated to a traditional Chinese meal (including rice and various meat and vegetable dishes) which Wade Murri, a junior majoring in business, thoroughly enjoyed.
“I really loved the food,” Murri said. “They had a combination of Chinese and Chinese-American cuisine. I liked it because there were so many Chinese people around that it just made the food taste better.”
Afterward, those who attended were treated to a variety of cultural performances.
Among them were several Chinese songs – both Baptist hymns and more modern selections, a five-man Hindi dance team, a piano and violin piece, and a Chinese magic show.
Ying Hui Wong, a graduate student in economics, said that her “favorite part of the program were the Chinese traditional dances and the Chinese cultural fashion show.”
“A lot of my friends were participating in this party and they really did a lot of preparation for it,” Wong said. “I really liked this party.”
Nye agreed.
“My most favorite part about tonight was the cultural dances that were performed,” he said. “I like foreign dancing. Notice I said foreign, not exotic. To see how everyone got along and mingled together here tonight was great. I’m definitely going to come next year.”
Though most of the activities were purely for entertainment, Du and Wong stressed the importance of students continuing to learn all they can about Chinese culture.
“I think tonight was a start to help people learn about China,” Wong said. “But I don’t think it’s much. There was little about the language and the culture, and its only one party. There’s not a big proportion of the population that understands the Chinese culture.”
Du said, “I suggest students learn about Chinese food first, because it is delicious. Other activities such as Kung Fu and dancing are attractive and easy to learn. Also, nowadays, Hollywood pays more attention to Chinese movies, which can help students dive deeply into Chinese culture.”
Murri, who already had a desire to learn about the Chinese people, said Saturday night’s event only increased that desire.
“Even though I haven’t had a ton of experience being around them, I want to participate more in their cultural events,” he said.
Du also highly recommended a trip to China, if “students have the time.”
“The will find everything cheap, but life wonderful there,” he said.
-mattgo@cc.usu.edu
Yang Yang fashions a parasol with her Chinese dress. She was part of the fashion show at the Chinese New Year Celebration Saturday night at the Logan LDS Institute of Religion. Yang Yang also teaches Chinese 2020. (Photo by Michael Sharp)