By Ryan Huynh, Feb. 8, 2022
The Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi Student Cultural Center hosted its 19th annual Lunar New Year event to celebrate the Year of the Water Tiger. Instead of lion dances and fireworks like previous years, the APISC shipped out care packages and created interactive games and activities for those who came to celebrate with them on Zoom.
In the lunar calendar, every year is a part of a cycle that corresponds with a different animal and element, according to the zodiac. Each year is associated with one of the five elements — earth, water, fire, wood and metal, with this year being the Year of the Water Tiger.
Inhauck Choi, a social justice leader at the APSIC, discussed some of the changes that had to be necessitated because of the temporary online instruction period.
“We were planning most of this stuff to be in person,” Choi said. “But then we had to reorganize it to be on Zoom, and most of the Zoom events we’ve hosted before had low interaction, so we had to come up with some creative ways to keep the community engaged.”
One of the ways they bridged the digital gap was with hand-made celebration packs, featuring an assortment of red envelopes, a Year of the Tiger balm, stickers, some festive ornaments and informational sheets for the center.
Participants could either have the celebration packs delivered to them by mail upon registering for the event on MyBar or they could pick up the package in person at the APISC. The center produced over 80 celebration packs in anticipation of the event.
“We chose all of these items because they all play a major part in Lunar New Year and Asian culture,” Samantha Lai said. “You can’t have the new year without red envelopes, and the tiger balm sticker is a nice meme or insider joke for those who get the pun.”
Red envelopes or hongbao in Mandarin are small envelopes of money that are usually given by older family members to the younger members as a symbol of good luck for the incoming year. Red envelopes can also be gifted among friends or employees. Tiger balm is a traditional heat rub used to soothe aches and pains, with an unmistakable tiger logo.
The event featured interactive events such as a Lunar New Year Kahoot trivia game, a screening of the short film “Little Tiger” and small presentations about how participants celebrate the occasion in their own culture.
“Even though I’m Okinawan Japanese and don’t celebrate Lunar New Year in the most traditional way, my family and I always find ways to celebrate it in our own way,” said APSIC coordinator Kayla Kosaki. “We would celebrate with food and desserts like mochi soup, and recently my grandfather taught us how to properly clean fish, because we like to go out fishing a lot, so in a way it’s just about being with your family and making your own traditions.”
Another activity was having participants search their house for common food items such as instant noodles, fruits, utensils and anything red, with each item signifying different aspects of Lunar New Year, such as the meaning of the Water Tiger, how to use fruits as offerings and more.
“Even if you don’t celebrate, we hope that you will have learned something about our culture by the end of it,” said Choi. “It’s all about sharing space as a community, learning about each other’s diverse backgrounds and building those connections to one another through culture.”
Students can find more about the APISC at their building on campus or on their website.
Featured image courtesy of Huy Tran.
