The Lunar Year of the Dog was celebrated in the KAV, Thursday, Feb. 15. Participants received a glimpse of the many Chinese festivities related to the holiday.

The event was co-sponsored by the Office of International Student Services, the Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Mosaic House and the Chinese Culture and Food Club.

Elizabethtown College had performances from two dance groups: the Sunshine Dance Club and the Chinese Qipao Club from Harrisburg. The Lotus Dance was performed by The Sunshine Dance Club, and the Fashion Show was performed by the Chinese Qipao Club. The performers from these groups are full-time dancers.

The host, president of the Chinese Culture and Food Club and sophomore Yawen Zhang, loved the event and was thrilled to play a role in the Chinese New Year celebration.

“I really loved the performers; they were absolutely amazing,” Zhang said. “It was great to see how many people attended!”

Junior Hui Wei Liu came to the festival because he thought it would be fun.

“My favorite part of the event was the performance by the Sunshine Dance group,” Liu said. “I liked how the Qipao group was the 1920s style.”

Liu also enjoyed the fact that Etown included a Chinese culture event on campus.

Catering and Dining Services provided vegetable dumplings and vegetable spring rolls for participants.

There were several student-run stations at the event. Attendees could participate in a traditional tea pouring ceremony, a calligraphy demonstration and workshop, paper cutting, a “selfie” station and karaoke.

Sophomore and international leadership assistant Sam Friedline was a student worker at the event.

“I am in charge of the selfie station where participants have the opportunity to take a piece of the event home with them,” Friedline stated.

At her station, participants could use props such as a dragon head or Chinese flag and have their picture taken.

Zhang is an international student who was born in China. It was meaningful to her to be able to celebrate her holiday from home at school.

“This celebration made me feel connected to my country and proud of it,” Zhang said.

As the president of the Chinese Culture and Food Club, she and her fellow members were planning on having a traditional hot pot, where they would make and eat traditional Chinese foods.

“I am very excited for it,” Zhang stated.

Unlike many other holidays, the Chinese New Year is celebrated on a different day each year because it follows the lunar calendar. The animal of 2018 is the dog because of the 12-year Chinese zodiac rotation.

Based on Asian astrology, the animal correlated with one’s year of birth contributes to their personality characteristics. The year of the dog individuals are said to be responsible, serious and possess good communication skills.

Many participants of the event learned something new. Director of international student services and committee chair of the event Kristi Syrdahl discovered that there were various forms of calligraphy that correlated to the different Chinese dynasties.

Friedline discovered that each of the Chinese lanterns that are hung outside of the homes of the people of China had writings on them that meant happy new year.

The most exciting part of the event for Syrdahl was the number of attendees.

“It is wonderful to see how many people desire to be in a culturally diverse environment,” Syrdahl stated. “The turnout indicates that not only was the event successful, but more importantly, it was meaningful.”

Assistant professor of political science and Asian studies Dr. Dan Chen was a part of the planning committee for the event and came to the celebration.

“The nicest part of the festival was the community feeling,” Chen said. “There were so many students, faculty and their children as well as community members.”

Chen did not require her students to attend the event. However, she did encourage them to come and was very happy to see students enjoying themselves at the festival.

The idea for the Chinese New Year celebration was created because Syrdahl was trying to come up with activities that celebrated international holidays.

Syrdahl had recently reconnected with president of the Central Pennsylvania Chinese Association Lin Guo. His niece had recently studied at Etown in 2012-13. He provided Syrdahl with the information about the Chinese dance groups.

The committee who helped make the event happen was director of the Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking and chair of the history department Dr. David Kenley, Chen, development database coordinator Jasper Choi, first-year Anmei Cao and Zhang.