Year of the Dragon 새해 복 많이 받으세요

International Student Services and the Writing & Language Studies Department will celebrate “Year of the Dragon-Lunar New Year” from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the University Ballroom on the Edinburg campus.

The celebration, known as Lunar New Year, Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, is celebrated among several Asian countries, including South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and China, and has been celebrated at UTRGV since 2016.

International Student Services Director Samantha Lopez said more than 1.5 billion people celebrate new beginnings worldwide with the coming of Lunar New Year.

 “We have an Asian community at UTRGV of international students and we believe that this is an important celebration for all of the UTRGV community to experience,” Lopez said.

She said one of the main objectives of hosting the celebration is to bring the festivities to UTRGV through language, culture and experience.

“We want our students to be more [culturally] knowledgeable, and if they cannot experience this celebration at an Asian country, they can celebrate it in the United States,” Lopez said.

Mijin Oh-Villarreal, a writing & language studies lecturer, will design hand fans with Korean calligraphy for students as well as oversee several Korean traditional games such as the yutnori, ttakjichigi and jegichagi.

 Oh-Villarreal said one of the goals of the event is to bring “cultural awareness to the RGV people and RGV students. [And to] help people expand their culture knowledge, culture experience, and respect other cultures.”

Lunar New Year is a 15-day event where “the arrival of spring and the beginning of a new year on the lunisolar calendar” is celebrated, according to the National Museum of Asian Art website.

There are 12 zodiac animals in the Chinese calendar that go in a set order and repeat every 12 years. This year’s animal is the dragon.

Different versions of the legend have surfaced explaining why there are 12 specific animals, rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig, and why they appear in that order in the cycle.

A variation of the legend states that the Jade emperor, or “ruler of heaven,” selected the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac through a race. The race called for all “earthly creatures” to participate and cross a rapid-current river and cross the finish line on the shore, according to the Britannica website.

One legend originates from an ancient Chinese poem of 12 mythical animals that descend from “the heavens to help people celebrate the coming of spring and a new crop,” according to the National Museums Liverpool website.

Activities will be available at the event, including Korean calligraphy, painting, a wishing tree, Korean traditional performances and games. Heana Kim, a Korean exchange student from Soonchunhyang University in South Korea, will teach students how to play the janggu, a Korean hourglass shaped drum.

Traditional food will be served such as lo mein noodles, fried rice, kung pao chicken, honey chicken and egg rolls.

Lopez said around 200 people attended last year’s Lunar New Year celebration, and she invites the UTRGV community to “come and experience this amazing event.”

Happy New Year: 새해 복 많이 받으세요