Far away from home, hundreds of Ohio State Chinese students and the Columbus Chinese community flocked to Drake Union to celebrate the Lunar New Year of the Ram from seven p.m. to midnight Saturday.
Decorated with red spring festival couplets and Chinese characters, the Thurber Theater was transformed into a small China.
“I’ve attended the events for seven years since I was here,” said Yuming Ma, an OSU graduate. “I don’t know these people, but at this time of the year, we come here together.”
The events may be a little different from those celebrated in China.
Followed by New Year’s greetings, a symbolic lion dance kicked off the event and pulled people into a fevered air. Although not performed in the streets as most might see if they visited China’s New Year festivities, the people were still pleased. Along with the dragon, the lion is traditionally considered to bring good luck and happiness.
Traditionally in China, instead of a large party, a family gets together to celebrate the New Year at home, said Lu Jin, a graduate student in sociology and spokeswoman for the Chinese Student and Scholar Society.
Sitting around, family members make round dumplings called tang yuan and have them for dinner, she said. Because of their shape, the dumplings symbolize harmony of family.
Although he and his family did not have the special foods they used to have back at home, they cooked dumplings and had them for dinner at the New Year’s Eve, Ma said.
Other events included folk and modern dances, martial arts, Beijing Opera and a fashion show.
The sound of Chinese drums, flutes and gongs reverberated through the auditorium. While playing the music, each performer came to the stage and gave a New Year’s greeting.
Young Chinese children could learn about their roots and traditions by wearing Chinese dresses and performing dances to the accompaniment of traditional music.
Even if the Lunar New Year is a Chinese tradition, people did not miss out on modern performance at the festival. Four OSU students sang one of the most popular Chinese pop songs.
In light of time and location, the traditional ways of commemorating the New Year may be limited in Columbus, Jin said. Near midnight, people set off fireworks and firecrackers in China and enjoy the earsplitting noise that lasts for about an hour.
Ma bought his year-old son a gift of red envelopes with money, which are doled out in hopes of bringing good luck.
According to the traditional Chinese horoscope, the Year of the Ram symbolizes discord and strife.
Even though the theater only seated 625 students, about 800 people attended. Those who could not enter the theater, because of its seating capacity, hung around outside and chatted. At least they could watch a popular Chinese show aired by China’s Central Television Station on New Year’s day in the basement of Drake Union.
“It’s nobody’s fault,” said Rushu Luo, a graduate in business. “I am still enjoying myself here. We don’t come here for the show but to get together.”
The Chinese Student and Scholar Society at OSU teamed up with local Chinese orgnizations to sponsor the festival. Taiwanese and Hong Kong communities, who celebrate the Lunar New Year, also sponsored the event.
Chinese New Year is the biggest holiday in China and spans the first 15 days of the year. It originated from the lunar calendar, which is based on the movement of the moon, and dates change from year to year.
