Lions danced around the room, egged on by children squealing in
delight at their acrobatics and sparkling costumes. Crowds cheered
beneath rows of red paper lanterns and clapped along as a
children’s choir sang Chinese songs.
The Chinese lunar year 4704, the Year of the Dog, was welcomed
in by a sizeable crowd at UCLA on Sunday night. The annual cultural
night, sponsored in part by the Chinese Students and Scholars
Association, transformed the Tom Bradley International Hall
ballroom into the site of a celebration of Chinese heritage and
tradition.
Over 500 people of all ages chatted amicably in Chinese before
the event started, calling to old friends and snacking on
traditional refreshments in the foyer of the packed auditorium,
waiting for the beginning of a celebration that attracts attendees
from the greater Los Angeles area.
“It’s a free event, so people come in from
everywhere,” said Wei Xie, a third-year molecular, cell, and
developmental biology student, president of CSSA, and executive
director of the cultural night. The celebration has been held
annually since 1997.
The crowd was welcomed in Chinese and English by a panel of four
hosts.
“This is the first day of the New Year, when people go out
and give good wishes to friends,” said co-host Eric Pang, a
first-year biochemistry student.
“We’re here to share good wishes, to welcome in the
Year of the Dog, and to celebrate,” Pang announced to
cheers.
Chinese New Year is full of colorful traditions. One of the most
eye-catching of these is “yasuiqian,” the custom of
giving away money in red envelopes to friends and family,
especially children. Food and family time are also hallmarks of the
annual celebration.
“New Year’s Eve is like Thanksgiving. All the
families get together and have a dinner,” said Jian Zhang, a
fourth-year mathematics student.
Parents will sometimes wait until midnight to begin dinner on
the Chinese New Year so their children can battle through traffic
and get home for the meal, Zhang said.
It is a happy time of year and an especially exciting time for
the children, much like Christmas in America, Zhang said. Children
are given the money-filled red envelopes, and in China they are
sometimes given new clothes.
“In America now, every month you can have a new dress or
new shoes,” but that wasn’t the case years ago in
China, when getting new clothes was a grand occasion, Zhang
said.
In an attempt to remember the children who aren’t
well-off, some collected money to help the needy. Graduate
mathematics student Lin He was among those seeking donations for
the co-sponsoring Overseas China Education Foundation, which funds
elementary education for poor children in China.
“So many people come here from the outside
community,” He said. “We’re trying to make huge
publicity and get more donations.”
The celebration at UCLA included performances by a
children’s choir, solos and skits. It also featured
traditional dances such as the lion dance, which dates back over
1,000 years and represents the hopes and aspirations of the Chinese
people for all of the good things life holds, according to the CSSA
program of events.
Many members of the event staff were garbed in fashions dating
from different periods of Chinese history.
Winnie Wang, a recent graduate and president of the UCLA Chinese
Folk Dance Troupe, was adorned in a costume reminiscent of the
Shang dynasty, which ruled from 1600 B.C. until the mid-1000s
B.C.
“We want to present our own culture through folk
dance,” said Wang, whose dance troupe has practiced since
September to present the traditional Tibetan dance it
performed.