“The Lunar New Year is a time of celebration and tradition.” (Courtesy of Wake Forest University)

Multiple events were held throughout February to celebrate the Lunar New Year, the beginning of a new year based on the lunisolar calendars.  

The Lunar New Year is a 15-day festival beginning on the first new moon of the year. This year, the first new moon was on Feb. 10, but this date changes slightly every year due to the cycles of the moon. This year, 2024 is the year of the dragon, the fifth animal in the 12-year cycle of zodiac animals. To celebrate this, student organizations held multiple events open to the Wake Forest community. 

“Lunar New Year is the perfect opportunity to bring everyone together, not only our organizations, but Wake Forest as a whole,” Annie Phan, senior advisor of the Asian Student Interest Association (ASIA), said. 

The International Student Association (ISA) hosted a Lunar New Year celebration on Feb. 8 in Farrell Hall. They set up tables with snacks, red envelopes and crafts so that students passing by could get a glimpse of some important aspects of the celebration. Additionally, members of ISA stood at the tables and told students about traditional crafts and instructed them on how to make them. 

“A big part of the tradition is about getting together and eating and making crafts,” Joanna Wu, a member of ISA said. “I really appreciate the opportunity to actually host this event.”

Another event was hosted by the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) on Feb. 10 in Benson University Center. CSSA fried dumplings for attendees to eat while watching multiple performances. Different student groups were invited to sing, dance and set up tables. The yo-yo trick performance was a big hit of the night. 

James Fu, the president of CSSA, reflected on why holding this event is important to him as an upperclassman. 

“I’m in my junior year, and I think this event is an opportunity for students to be together and do some fun things with other similar students,” Fu said. 

The final event was hosted by the Asian Student Interest Association (ASIA), an organization open to any student interested in Asian culture or tradition. The celebration happened on Feb. 17. ASIA provided a wide variety of dishes and invited members of various student performing groups for entertainment. 

The event was held in the Sutton Center, which accommodated the high attendee turnout.

“Lunar New Year this past Saturday saw a turnout of [more than 200], and so it was really nice to be able to share this part of the culture with everybody,” Phan said.

Many of the leaders and attendees have a personal tie to the holiday. A significant tradition is giving the gift of a red envelope. These envelopes containing money are given out on the Lunar New Year to symbolize good luck for the upcoming year. 

“It’s like one of the most special holidays for me because, growing up, I’d spend time with my family and get these envelopes with actual money,” Alyssa Nguyen, a master’s student at the Wake Forest School of Business said. “I ran here from my test to get one.”

The Lunar New Year is a time of celebration and tradition. According to Fu, being away from family at college can be hard on students during times of festivities, and events like these help them to feel more at home.

“If you’re a freshman away from home and this [is] the first year you’re not celebrating with parents, that [definitely feels] a bit lonely,” Fu said. “That’s the reason why we have these events on campus.”

The holiday can be especially hard for international students, and Wu recognized this fact when planning the ISA’s Lunar New Year event. 

“We wanted to do something that makes the international students who celebrate it feel at home,” Wu said. 

Multiple organizations came together for a common goal — community.

“The essence of the Lunar New Year is gathering,” Phan said. “So many countries celebrate — China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam — and each of those countries celebrate in different ways. However, the most common thing is community.”