APCC, VSA host event to celebrate Lunar New Year
The East Walkway was adorned with red and gold decorations on Feb. 12, as Toros commemorated the Lunar New Year. In contrast to the common Gregorian calendar, which changes based on the position of the sun and the stars, the lunar new year is based on the monthly cycles of the phases of the moon. The holiday began officially on Feb. 10.
The Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, is a special event in many Asian cultures, commemorated with community gatherings, fireworks, and parades. According to the 12 animal signs of the Chinese zodiac, 2024 marks the Year of the Dragon – the other animals include the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. The dragon represents strength, good fortune, ambition, confidence, and achievement.
Lunar New Year events at Dominguez Hills were hosted by the Asian & Pacific Cultural Center (APCC) and the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) in partnership with the Asian-Pacific Studies Department, the Office of International Education, and the Associated Students, Inc.
APCC program director Nathan Nguyen kicked off the festivities earlier this month while wearing a traditional Áo dài dress embroidered with a dragon design. During his welcome speech, Nguyen invited attendees to participate in venerating their ancestors. As part of this ceremony, members of the VSA and their advisors placed items like incense, flowers, and fruits on an ancestral altar.
“It’s something that I thought was a highlight because we got to teach people more about ancestor veneration and the importance of ancestors and the spirituality behind the event,” Nguyen said.
Two energetic performers wearing red and gold lion costumes danced for the crowd on the East Walkway. In Chinese culture, the traditional lion dance is performed to ward off bad luck and promote prosperity in the new year. The dancers weaved their way through the crowd to the beat of drums and cymbals played by their fellow performers.
Students from the Children Music and Art school in Orange County also performed traditional music using guitars, violins, and the đàn tranh – a stringed Vietnamese instrument that is descended from the Chinese guzheng instrument.
Meanwhile, 16 campus organizations set up tables along the walkway for students and visitors to browse. These groups included the History Club, the Women’s Resource Center, and the Southwest Asian North African Association. Attendees were given traditional red envelopes containing tickets that could be stamped at the different tables and then redeemed for a free boba tea drink.
Nguyen said he had purchased 300 drinks to hand out in anticipation of a larger turnout, noting that 200 people showed up last year. He said more than 300 people had checked in this year and acknowledged that organizers even missed some students in attendance.
The event amassed a larger turnout than the previous year, which gave more people the opportunity to participate in celebrating API communities. And although the holiday is very prominently celebrated in Asian communities, events like this allow for more people who are not Asian and Pacific Islander to engage with and learn more about the culture and festivities.
Angelika Lopez, a third-year kinesiology major, said that she likes how she is able to feel welcome because of the work done by these cultural centers to represent API students and cultures on campus.
The beginning of a new year marks a time for new prospects and change. Joanne Ancheta, a fourth-year clinical science student, expressed her hopes for the Year of the Dragon.
“To do well in all my classes and also just maintaining good relationships with everyone in my life,” Ancheta said.
As for what this year will bring to the campus, Nguyen said Toros can look forward to April, when the campus celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Various clubs, organizations, and departments will be collaborating once again to bring programs like a film festival, a night market, and a movie on the lawn to the campus community.
“I just want the campus community to see and acknowledge how our students are connecting and growing,” Nguyen said. “And that our cultures deserve to be at the center of celebrations sometimes too.”
