by Jake Kwon ’26
With the Lunar New Year now ahead of us, four of the Asian-American affinity groups here at Bellarmine, Vietnamese Student Union (VSA), Chinese Culture Community (CCC), Taiwanese Student Union (TSU), and Korean Student Association (KSA) came together to host a Lunar New Year celebration last Friday in the SLC, inviting students from a multitude of schools. Tables were stacked high with a vast range of food to select from, from rice cakes to pad thai – you name it.
Moreover, this event held a wide variety of games and stations, some of which include ddakji, which some of the audience may know from Squid Game, origami folding stations, and pitch-pot. The highlight for many of the students at the event was mostly the dragon dance performance, with an incredible demonstration of music and acrobatics.
We decided to interview several students who attended this event, and asked them to answer a few questions to get their overall thoughts on the celebration.
______________________
Gary Soo ’23 – Chinese Culture Community Leader
Q: What is important about this event?
A: The most important thing about the Lunar New Year celebration is the people. It is a chance to reconnect or to meet new people and be able to share apart of yourself and your culture. This involves lion dancing, traditional food, fun activities, and just overall festive occasion.
Q: What was the best part of the event in your opinion?
A: The best part of the event was definitely the lion dancing. Seeing fellow students such as Mihn-Quan Pham participate in it and everyone just enjoying it and having a good time watching it. It is also culturally important as it signifies bringing good fortune and they certainly did!
Q: What was the best food item at the event?
A: The best food item at the event was 꿀떡 (Korean Honey Rice Cakes) as they were so sweet and delicious and had an amazing chewy texture!
_________________________
Dylan Chau ‘25 – Participant
Q: What are some things that you enjoyed about the event?
A: I really liked how this event brought so many different schools together, which allowed us to meet new people. I thought that the lion dance was also really cool.
Q: Speaking of the Lion Dance, what was your favorite part of it?
A: I liked the costumes because they were very bright.
Q: What was your favorite food item at the event?
A: Well, I can’t really say much since I was late to the event, but I would have to say it would most likely be the rice crackers.
Q: What were your favorite games at the event?
A: I would say it would be the ddakji game where you throw the paper or the pitch-pot.
_________________
Anton Kolocestos ‘26 – Participant
Q: What did you enjoy most about this event?
A: I enjoyed the overall display of culture, which included the games, the music, and food. I also thought that the lion dance was very cool.
Q: What was your favorite food item?
A: Definitely the donuts.
Q: Do you hope to see this event comeback next year?
A: Yes, abosulutly. It’s always good to learn about new cultures and this event embodies that perfectly.
Q: What did you enjoy about the Dance?
A: I liked how creative it was and I was impressed by how they conducted the performance so flawlessly.
____________________________________________________________________________________
That is all everyone! The Lunar New Year Celebration seems to have been a great event that students truly enjoyed, and it was a fantastic way to celebrate the beginning of the Lunar New Year. There are more events like this approaching in the near future, so be sure to stop the Bell Online again to know what’s happening on campus! Happy Lunar New Year Bells!