UNA to Ring in Chinese New Year With Celebration

Feb. 1, 2011

FLORENCE, Ala. – Students will gather to ring in the Chinese New Year with authentic food, decorations, music and entertainment during a spring celebration at the University of North Alabama Feb. 2 from 6 to 9 p.m.

The Chinese Student Organization has partnered together to organize UNA’s first Chinese New Year celebration, which will feature hanging lanterns, a variety of food, comedy skits, student-produced music and special prizes for attendees. The celebration will take place in the Guillot University Center Banquet Halls A-E.

Zhang Lin, a Chinese instructor, is assisting the student organization in the planning event. Lin hopes the spring festival will attract more people to the Chinese culture and make international students feel at home.

“This is much more like a family reunion time for the students here who are far away from home,” she said. “We want students to come celebrate this special time and just have fun together.”

The 2011 Chinese New Year begins on Feb. 3 and lasts for 15 days. As Chinese families celebrate the upcoming year, they often watch the CCTV New Year’s Gala, which is a widely popular four-hour countdown to the new lunar year. Because the United States is on a different time zone than China, Lin said the UNA celebration will highlight re-runs from the show, instead of a live broadcast, at the event.

The event is free for all UNA students, faculty/staff and the community, but tickets will be distributed at the door, as door prizes will be distributed to around 20 attendees. Zhang anticipates approximately 250 people will take part in the Chinese New Year celebration.

“We want students to come and join us and spend a Chinese night at UNA,” she said. “This is a good chance for students to learn a different culture. Many people don’t usually go abroad, so I think this is good for students to experience something different.”

For more information about the Chinese New Year celebration, contact the Office of International Affairs at 256-765-4626.