Six thousand miles away in China, the fifth day of the new lunar
year is celebrated today to bring prosperity to the family.
But for many UCLA students in the Chinese community, this fifth
day brings not much more than what is expected in their routine
campus lives.
Though students make an effort to keep some of the same
traditions of the Chinese New Year, they say their celebrations are
considerably different than those of relatives and friends in
China.
“People have fireworks at midnight and welcome the god of
richness and money (on the fifth day),” said Lei Shao, a
graduate student in physics.
“The first seven days are special, but people in different
regions celebrate them differently,” he added.
Shao found the ceremonies in the United States to be very simple
compared to the traditional ceremonies in China.
Even with the differences, the culture of the East was brought
to UCLA in the form of a day of performances Saturday at a Chinese
New Year Cultural Night put on by the Chinese Students and Scholars
Association.
“Social activities like this help bring out the spirit of
the new year,” said Xiong Liu, a graduate student in
electrical engineering.
Even in China, itself, traditions have evolved over the years
and have changed further in other parts of the world.
The celebration no longer lasts 15 days, especially since people
have to work and they only get a few days off from their jobs, Liu
said.
He said he spent the New Year’s Day like he would any
other day because he had to attend school as usual and take care of
other everyday errands.
The other factor that stopped him from fully celebrating the new
year was the fact that new year celebrations are traditionally
intertwined with family, and Liu’s family lives in China.
“It’s like Thanksgiving in that sense … everyone
tries their best to come home from wherever they are for the dinner
on the eve of the new year,” Shao said.
Shao also said all activities that night are celebrated as a
family. Everyone eats the last dinner of the old year together and
spends time with each other until the new year arrives at
midnight.
In Chinese culture, midnight is the exchange point between the
old and new year and when the two meet, people celebrate with
fireworks.
Watching fireworks to welcome the new year is also traditionally
done as a family.
Shao said the differences between celebrations also depend on
the varying rules in the two societies.
An example is the fact that fireworks are illegal in many
counties in California, but they are a key component of
celebrations in China.
The tradition of setting of fireworks started many years ago. It
is believed that it started because the ancient Chinese character
for “new year” and “monster” are related,
and fireworks were used to scare away monsters.
After the fireworks, many people in China watch a television
program called “Spring Festival Party.” The program,
which originally aired in 1983, is put on by the government and is
different each year. Over the time, it has become another New
Year’s tradition that is usually not practiced by the Chinese
community outside of China.
Another custom Liu said the Chinese community traditionally
practices is one in which everyone cleans their houses before the
new year comes and wears new and clean clothes to welcome the new
season.
Having practiced the customs when he lived in China three years
ago, Liu said he had skipped those steps this year.