After living at home for so many years, it is hard for Taiwanese and Chinese students to visit home on special occasions.
The Taiwanese Student Association (TSA) is giving those students and the community an opportunity to enjoy the Chinese New Year.
Pei-Cheng Chiu, a general business major and vice president of TSA, said that the event is held “because the international students cannot go home for the Lunar New Year they hold a celebration on campus together that everyone can attend”.
The TSA is throwing a Lunar New Year event this coming Sunday in Dede 1 from 5:30-8:30pm.
“The Chinese New Year is similar to the American’s Thanksgiving holiday; it is a time when families get together and celebrate for seven to ten days”, Chiu said.
The New Year celebration for the Chinese culture is quite unique.
“There are 12 animals in the zodiac that represent every year in a systematic order”, said Ming-Hsiang Chou, president of TSA and senior accounting major. “In Chinese astrology, the tiger represents the Lunar New Year of 2010; the tiger stands for bravery, optimism and leadership skills.”
To celebrate the Lunar New Year, there will be several games to play during the event.
The games will include Majong Bingo (similar to regular bingo) and Chopstick Candy (learning to use chopsticks to pick up candy) and a few others.
The celebration will start off with a buffet dinner sponsored by local Chinese restaurants, such as Great Wall, 8 China Buffet, Panda Garden, are very popular in the community.
Following the dinner, traditional and modern Taiwanese dances will be performed to show how much the culture has changed.
There is one thing that almost all members of TSA are looking forward to: the yo-yo act, an annual show at the Lunar New Year event.
This performance is given by Chiu, who has performed this act around the world.
Lawrence Lee, senior administration management major, said, “I am excited to see the yo-yo act because there is always something new to see.”
There will also be a puppet show, door prizes, and storytelling done by elementary, early and special and TSA faculty advisor education professor Karen Liu.
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Lunar New Year Celebration
Sunday, January 17 @ 5:30 p.m. in Dede I
Students: $6 Adults: $7 Children 6-12: $3 Children Under 6: Free!
For more information, contact Oscar Chou at mchou@indstate.edu