Lunar New Year Celebration: Hopping into the Year of the Rabbit
On Wednesday, Jan. 25, NC State’s Office of Global Engagement held a Lunar New Year celebration. This year, we hop into the year of the rabbit!
According to Chinese Astrology, the rabbit symbolizes patience and luck. The year of the rabbit brings peace, harmony and tranquility to the new year.
Headed by the Office of Global Engagement’s undergraduate programming and marketing intern, Kemmia Ghodrat, this event celebrates the year of the rabbit through music, food, and different cultural activities. One of the cultural activities featured lantern painting.
Event attendance increased nearly 50% from last year with over 370 attendees. “Our primary goal was to increase numbers since last year’s event was so popular, and we are happy to have done just that!” exclaims Ghodrat.
A plethora of activity stations gave guests the opportunity to learn about Chinese culture. “There was so much excitement about the stations,” says Global Ambassador Allison Potter. “It was nice to see so much interest.”
“This event would not have been as successful without the help of the Global Ambassadors and volunteers”, Ghodrat says. Volunteers include the Chinese Undergraduate Student Association (CUSA), the dance group, KPACK, Origami Club, international student volunteers, and the Technician writers and photographers.
“I think there was a lot of great diversity, not only in appearance but in age,” says Global Ambassador Sommer Stephens. “There were freshmen and graduate students, faculty and their children. The whole community wanted to learn about Lunar New Year,” says Global Ambassador Enzo Molina.
The Lunar New celebration Year fosters community. “We hope everyone who attended was able to meaningfully engage with this holiday and learn something new… the more we can learn from each other, the better we can empathize and create an inclusive environment on campus,” says Ghodrat.
The organizers of the event, the Global Ambassadors, are the student force behind creating globally-themed campus events celebrating holidays such as the Lunar New Year. Applications to be an Ambassador will be opening on March 1 on our website.