Chinese New Year Celebration
Chinese New Year is an important traditional Chinese holiday celebrated at the turn of the Chinese calendar. In China, it is also known as the Spring Festival, which means the first day of the Season of Spring. Traditionally, Chinese people call the New Year "Nian" (pinyin: Nián), and "Guo Nian" (pinyin: guò Nián) is commonly used to refer to the act of celebrating the arrival of the Chinese new year. Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally run from Chinese New Year's Eve, the last day of the last month of the lunar calendar, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month, making the festival the longest in the lunar calendar.
Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese new year vary widely. Often, the evening preceding Chinese New Year's Day is an occasion for Chinese families to gather for the annual reunion dinner. It is also traditional for every family to thoroughly cleanse the house, in order to sweep away any ill-fortune and to make way for good incoming luck. Windows and doors will be decorated with red color paper-cuts and couplets with popular themes of "good fortune" or "happiness", "wealth", and "longevity." Other activities include lighting firecrackers, giving money in red paper envelopes to family children, and traditional lion and dragon dance.
2021 Chinese New Year Celebration Week
2021 Chinese New Year is a Year of the Ox. Chinese new year is the most important holiday in China and other Asian countries. It is the time for family reunion and friends gathering to share our joy and count our blessings. This year's Chinese new year celebration will be a much-needed and expected occasion for many Chinese students and scholars on Missouri State campus to get connected and rejuvenated again while being social-distancing during this pandemic. In addition, its celebration offers an intercultural learning opportunity about Chinese new year traditions for students and faculty via online discussions.
With this purpose, the office of China Programs, office of International Programs and Chinese Students and Scholars Association together are hosting a week-long interactive online events from Feb. 8th to Feb 12th on MSU International Programs Instagram, Facebook page and YouTube channel. There will be daily theme-oriented videos recorded by our MSU Chinese students, scholars, alumni and friends both in the U.S. and China to showcase Chinese new year celebrations in real time. There will be designated Chinese students to lead each themed and topic-oriented discussion and interaction on Instagram and Facebook. Please follow us on International Programs' Instagram and Facebook page, and subscribe MoStateGlobal YouTube channel to celebrate 2021 Chinese New Year and other cultural events!
| Feb. 8 Monday | Feb. 9 Tuesday | Feb. 10 Wednesday | Feb. 11 Thursday | Feb. 12 Friday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Themes | Chinese New Year Introduction | Chinese New Year Preparation Traditions | Chinese New Year Celebration and Traditions | Chinese New Year Greetings | Chinese New Year Celebration in the U.S. |
| Video/Online Discussion Topics | My favorite Chinese New Year celebration activities | Chinese New Year Preparation Traditions | Chinese New Year Celebration and Traditions | Chinese New Year Greetings from MSU students, alumni, partner universities, and friends, etc. | My Chinese New Year memories at Missouri State University |