On Jan. 29, 2025, in honor of the Lunar New Year, the Student Diversity Board (SDB) and Asian American Pacific Islander club (AAPI) at Saint Mary’s College hosted a series of festivities coinciding with traditions specific to cultures that celebrate the holiday.
Lunar New Year is celebrated throughout many Asian countries and in diaspora communities around the world. The new year invites lively festivities which usually consist of 15 days' worth of “lion and dragon dances, fireworks, traditional food and cultural performances,” according to an Associated Press news article, “What is Lunar New Year and how is it celebrated?”
This year marks the Year of the Snake, a symbol of “good luck, rebirth and regeneration,” in addition to the pursuit of love and happiness, according to the article.
To maintain the holiday spirit, SDB and AAPI used the snake in their promotional materials surrounding the event. Throughout the day, the organizations also ran themed activities which corresponded with the holiday. Junior Giselle Martinez, president of the SDB, said that the two organizations hoped to adhere to an accurate representation of the Lunar New Year festivities by coming together.
“For this event particularly, we knew we wanted to do a Lunar New Year event, but none of us are with or too familiar with cultures that celebrate Lunar New Year, so we asked AAPI if they wanted to [collaborate],” Martinez said. “[AAPI] came up with the majority of the ideas ... because they understand more of the cultural aspect and the celebrations and traditions regarding Lunar New Year.”
Martinez touched on the importance of collaboration between SDB and AAPI and other diversity clubs at large.
“It's really important to collaborate with those diversity clubs, because a lot of the time they don't get as much funding or attention as need be. And I think it's really important to shine a light on these individual groups, especially to make sure that they all feel welcome here as a community,” Martinez said.
Along with the collaboration, junior Avery Lazaro, the founder and president of AAPI, hopes the event and club will create greater community for Asian American and Pacific Islander students.
“In starting [the] AAPI club, I'm just hoping to provide a support community and just kind of like a safe space for AAPI students, as well as celebrating our cultural differences on campus," she said.
Many of the AAPI ideas were inspired by cultural traditions.
According to the article, many activities and celebrations focus around legends, such as Nian, a mythical beast that ate human flesh on New Year's Day. To frighten the beast away, people hung red paper dragons, burned red lanterns and set off firecrackers.
SDB and AAPI adhere to the continuation of these activities through their own festival, using a provided space for painting lanterns and a firework show. Other events of the day featured Lunar New Year-themed bingo, a chopstick relay and the crafting of paper fortune tellers.
Another important aspect of many Lunar New Year celebrations is food. SDB, AAPI and the Noble Family Dining Hall worked together to incorporate new and returning dishes into Wednesday night’s menu to honor the holiday. Some of the options included a pho bar, Korean chicken wings, egg rolls, Asian stir fry, pot stickers, General Tso’s chicken with duck sauce and more.
Lazaro noted the excitement around the menu and working with the dining hall.
“The part that I found most interesting about this event is that we've also been working with the dining hall. So if you go into the dining hall right now, we've got a pho bar, and we've got just Asian food galore,” Lazaro said.
Freshman Jules Hollis shared her thoughts on the special dinner, expressing appreciation for the ready-to-order pho.
“I liked having a different kind of food selection,” she said. Looking ahead, Hollis hopes future celebrations will feature an even broader menu, perhaps a special dessert.
There was not only excitement for the food, but for the shared experience of everyone on the Saint Mary’s campus.
“One of the chefs even created their family's egg drop soup recipe, which I think is so wholesome,” Lazaro said. “I think it's so cute that [the chefs are] able to give us some of their cultural background too. [The festival is] not even just for students, it's for everybody here on campus.”
