Matt Peters
map006@marietta.edu
Marietta College welcomed the Year of the Monkey in style on Saturday, with one of the most successful Lunar New Year parties to date. Hundreds of students packed the Gathering Place for several hours of music, games, and delicious food.
Student organizer Diana Zhan says she’s very satisfied with the night’s turnout.
“I think the event was very successful because more people showed up than we expected,” Zhan said.
Zhan is a senior international student from Beijing. She estimates that roughly 200 people were in attendance that evening. Senior Margaret Price was also impressed with the attendance.
“Ever since I’ve been going here, this is probably the biggest turnout I’ve seen for an event on campus,” she said.
“It’s awesome to see all of the community members here as well… It’s pretty cool to see such a big turnout for an international celebration.”
The celebration marked the coming of the Lunar New Year, which falls between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20 each year. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, 2016 officially began on Monday Feb. 8.
The party featured various New Year festivities. While not as extravagant as typical Chinese New Year parties, the event did include some of the essential traditional Chinese elements present during the yearly celebration. Red and yellow paper lanterns dangled from the ceiling. Also, there were plenty of traditional Chinese foods, including potstickers, dumplings, spicy fish and shrimp lo Mein. Many students also enjoyed bubble tea, a special Chinese beverage.
Of course, the celebration goes much deeper than good food and fancy decorations.
“The Chinese New Year traditions are from a long time ago,” said sophomore Mark Bao.
Bao explained, for example, that the practice of launching fireworks began as a method of warding off evil spirits. Similarly, the iconic dragon dances are performed to both ward off unwanted spirits and usher in good luck.
Another highlight of the party was the student performances. Bao sang a duet rendition of Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” with Senior Conner Busby. Other musical performances included both original songs and covers from various international students.
While the Lunar New Year celebration here at Marietta College may not have been quite as extravagant as many international students are accustomed to, it offered a welcomed taste of those joyous celebrations.
Zhan says her favorite part of the holiday is just being with family, but since she is unable to see them this time of year, she is grateful to have good friends to share the in the festivities.
“It’s all about family gathering and friends gathering, kind of like your Christmas. It means a lot to us when we have friends to stay with,” she said.
