The Globe covers the 2024 Lunar New Year celebration at Salt Lake Community College. (Bao Lam)
Salt Lake Community College’s Asian Student Association and the University of Utah’s Vietnamese American Student Association came together to bring a Lunar New Year celebration to SLCC on Jan. 27, welcoming the Year of the Dragon.
The Lunar New Year – which falls on Feb. 10 this year – marks the arrival of spring and the start of a new year on the lunisolar calendar. It’s a cultural staple in countries such as China, Vietnam and Korea, where entire families and communities come together.
The celebration at SLCC presented traditional activities, including the crafting of fortune bracelets, origami and a gambling game called “Bầu cua cá cọp.” Participants also enjoyed dances, a Miss Vietnam runway show and, most important of all, a dragon dance.
In Asian culture, dragons are magical creatures that represent power, strength and good luck. Performing the dragon dance drives away evil spirits and acts as a wish of fortune for the community.
Asian Student Association President Rachel Nguyen expressed gratitude for the college’s celebration. She added that it was a big task for her club. “For this event specifically, I was not expecting this turnout,” Nguyen said. “I am so thankful that it was so. I am so relieved that it went so well too.”
Attendees also ate traditional dishes, including vegetable rolls, meat and broccoli plates, mirroring a typical Lunar New Year “reunion dinner.” The Lunar New Year’s Eve reunion dinner traditionally kicks off the holiday and consists of symbolic dishes like whole fish and desserts, which represents abundance and is eaten to bring prosperity.
Attendees who wanted to eat each needed four stamps, which they could get through games and activities, a decision that organizers implemented to encourage participation.
Justin Mosuela, a social work and communication studies student at the U., participated in one of the traditional dances. Mosuela spoke fondly about his family, who are from the Philippines, and how they prepare themselves for the new year.
“My family and I usually put coins in front of our ancestors in our home, [and] that represents a new year with money in our house. We also eat noodles at night, which represents a long life,” Mosuela said.
To keep up with future cultural events like this one, visit the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs event calendar.
