Lunar New Year celebration fosters community

Lamberton Hall buzzed with excitement Friday night as several student groups on campus came together to ring in the Lunar New Year with calligraphy, trivia and a fashion show displaying traditional attire.

The holiday, which fell on Jan. 29, marked the Year of the Snake. According to the Chinese Zodiac, this year symbolizes personal growth and transformation. 

The event was the result of a collaboration among several cultural organizations on campus, which spent months preparing to ensure the celebration would accommodate as many students as possible. 

Jiaruo Li, ‘26, vice president of Asian Cultural Society, said the planning began early in the fall semester, as the society only has two weeks after returning from winter break before the Lunar New Year. 


“The planning is fun,” Li said. “Representatives from each club sit there and contribute their ideas. So, we work from an outline of the event to eventually executing it.”

Details such as the menu and performances were coordinated throughout the fall semester with careful planning. The Southeast Asian Alliance, the Korean Student Association, the Japanese Student Association, the Vietnamese Student Association, the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers, the Thai Lao Cambodian Association, and the Lehigh Lion Dance Club all contributed to organizing the celebration.  

According to Lehigh Involvement Connection, the Lehigh Lion Dance Club strives to teach the art of the performance and provide immersive learning through culture and values. Its mission is to spread festivity during the Lunar New Year, and the club trained for months in preparation for this event, during which the members performed a Lion Dance. 

Kylie Park, ‘25, president of the Korean Student Association, said the Lunar New Year is celebrated by many countries, and the holiday blends cultures, particularly through food. 

Sam Lin, ‘25, president of the Asian Cultural Society, said the celebration provides an opportunity to connect with others. The event was open to all students, with the only restriction being a first-come, first-served RSVP system. Lin said students from various backgrounds attended the celebration.

“If they’re not as familiar with it, they can experience something new with it,” Lin said. 

Although the holiday typically occurs at the start of Lehigh’s spring semester when most community members are no longer home with their families, students still find ways to celebrate tradition on campus. 

Many students, like Ryan Javier, ‘26, reflected on family traditions at the event. He said the red card exchange is a particularly special one, as it symbolizes luck and prosperity. The tradition includes red envelopes containing money, known as hongbao, being given to family members by elders.

“Back home when I celebrate, my grandma will put them up on the wall, and you get blindfolded, so you just hopefully pick a good one,” Javier said.  

Other traditions focus on cleansing negative energy before the new year begins. Ashley Nguyen, ‘25, event coordinator for the Vietnamese Student Association, said she follows several rituals for the holiday. 

Every year, when the Lunar New Year arrives, Nguyen said her family cleans their house, wiping down everything from chairs to tables. She said they remove all the dirt and negative energy before the new year begins.

In addition to providing students with a fun night, the event also helped some feel a sense of home while at school.

“I’m so happy to have this event because it feels like a family,” Nguyen said. “It helps me have this sense of belonging here at Lehigh.”

Park shared a similar sentiment, as she said she’s glad there is a community at Lehigh to celebrate cultural events like the Lunar New Year. 

“There’s definitely a safe space here for Asian students, which I appreciate, and I have seen this community grow throughout my four years here,” Park said.