BSU Celebrates Year of the Dragon
The Asian Student Union (ASU) hosted its Lunar New Year celebration on the evening of February 9, its most anticipated event of the spring semester. The event was attended by over 100 students, faculty, and families. The Rondileau Student Union ballroom was filled with lantern decorations and fortune-filled red envelopes for attendees to marvel at.
Throughout the night, student speakers educated the audience with historical traditions originating from many different Asian cultures. ASU’s co-presidents Julie Wong (she/her) and Chemp Carpenter (they/them) shared a presentation about Chinese traditions during the New Year. Here, attendees had the opportunity to learn about the Nianshou legend. Nianshou is a mythical creature in Chinese culture that was known to feed on crops, livestock, and even people. In its village, locals hung up red lanterns and firecrackers to ward it off and the beast never came to the village again. Now, modern day Chinese festival dragons are based off Nianshou. The Nianshou was brought to BSU by Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy from Quincy, who performed Lion Dances and a Kung Fu performance for the event. During the performance, the Nianshou threw oranges and pieces of shredded cabbage at attendees’ tables. Wong was the lucky winner to receive the annual Chinese zodiac dragon plush given by the Academy.
In addition to Chinese New Year, there were presentations by Keilin Nguyen and Hoang Tran about Vietnamese New Year, also known as Tet. Nguyen shared an interactive presentation that included popular Tet foods and customs such as lion dancing. Vietnamese lion dancing primarily features drums and gong soundtrack accompanied by two to four dancers. Afterwards, Tran shared about his experiences visiting Vietnam with family, reflecting on wholesome memories.
To learn more about ASU and attend other fun events, visit EngageBSU. ASU meets on Mondays 5-6 p.m. in the RSU Green Room.
