CBU celebrates Lunar New Year Festival

 

Riverside, Calif. (Feb. 1, 2017)— Dragons, logograms, karate, Boba Tea and plenty of celebration welcomed in the year of the Rooster at a Lunar New Year Festival at California Baptist University on Jan. 31.

Leslie Shelton, director of International Student Services at CBU, said that in East Asian cultures the Lunar New Year Celebration has similarities to how Americans celebrate the Christmas season.

Both cultures have gift-giving opportunities, value spending time with family and offer multiple opportunities to attend celebrations, Shelton said.

“We want to honor our international students with providing an experience similar to back home,” Shelton said. “We also want to give our domestic students a chance to learn more about other cultures.”

The Lunar New Year began Jan. 28 and celebrations typically continue through February. The event at CBU featured Chinese snacks, games, music and student performers. Additionally, students had the opportunity to learn how to write their name in Chinese.

“I would have never known how my name is written in Chinese, so I think that was awesome,” said Victoria Jimenez, a business administration freshman. “CBU does a good job of promoting diversity on campus.”

Shelton said that CBU has a growing international population, especially from China.  

“We want [international students] to feel at home. Hopefully, the CBU community can become a second home for them,” Shelton said.