It’s time to paint the town red! And it’s safe to say that the Panasian Affinity space accomplished its goal both literally and figuratively as last week’s Lunar New Year celebration took place across Hewitt. The Hawks are ready to celebrate the Year of the Dragon.
In the entryway of Hewitt, students were greeted with a warm and vibrant display of florals and fortunes. The Panasian Affinity group collaborated with Ms. Carpenter-Walker to create the display along with the help of a Hewitt family. The fortune tree is over three feet tall and has over 100 student and faculty wishes for the new year.
What is the Lunar New Year? Lunar New Year is the celebration of the arrival of Spring as well as the beginning of the new year according to the Luni-Solar Calendar which dates back to the 3rd millennium BCE. The history of the festival and celebrations can be traced back 3,500 years. The New Year is a time to visit family and according to Bloomberg, some 474 million tourist trips were made between February 10th and February 17th in China alone. Given that Lunar New Year is celebrated across Asia, and even in Asian communities abroad such as England, Australia, and the United States, the Panasian Affinity space wanted to create an inclusive event by refraining from calling the event “Chinese New Year.”
New year, new me? Maybe, but in many Asian cultures, the New Year represents the opportunity for luck and prosperity. To ensure this luck, there are important traditions such as cooking food of good fortune and dressing yourself and your home in red. Food of good fortune includes dumplings which look like money pouches and represent future prosperity. Red represents good fortune and joy and hanging red lanterns at your doors can ward away evil spirits and thus protect you in the new year.
During lunch on February 12th students were encouraged to eat Asian cuisine in the Library and stay to learn about Lunar New Year. Senior Gabby Gee said, “It was a great experience. We hope that future student leaders will continue the tradition and grow it further!” “
The festivities included lantern-making, a chopsticks game, trivia/Kahoot, and more fortune notes. Students and faculty won prizes donated by the Panasian Affinity space, which may or may not have come from H-Mart on 32nd Street.
The Panasian Affinity space thanks everyone who attended and participated in the cultural event. They hope more people will join the space and allies will continue to support the different cultural identities across Hewitt.
