Away from home, the year still renews

By Dorit Goikhman

There is good reason why the Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival. Starting on the first day of the first lunar month and ending 15 days later, the Chinese concept of the New Year is an optimistic celebration of renewal and cleansing.

New Year celebrations are rooted in deep tradition, and this year Rider University has started a tradition of its own. Thanks to the efforts of Anne Mandel, professor and assistant to the dean for Leadership and Internship in the College of Business Administraion, and a group of talented Sanda students, the Rider community had the good fortune to celebrate this cultural event by enjoying an enriching three-hour display of dance, music, fashion and, of course, food.

The event took place this past Sunday in the Bart Luedeke Center. In the tradition of good luck, the turnout was much higher than expected with more than 150 students, faculty and others in attendance.

While nothing can compare to celebrating with family, Sanda students were positive about the differences between their holiday experiences abroad versus those spent at home.

“We celebrate Spring Festival with families in China,” said senior Ze Peng. “And here, we celebrate with friends. It’s a lot of fun, especially when I saw many people really enjoy the event. I liked every performance. The students all did a great job. The kung fu show did surprise me. It’s good to have a kung fu master here.”

In China, New Year celebrations are generally quite extravagant and more extensive than Rider’s version of welcoming the lunar new year. Many Chinese participate in a ritual cleaning of their home to promote auspicious prospects in the coming year.

“It lasts more than one day,” said Allen Teng. “At home we have fireworks.”

According to Mandel, the “event was a huge success.” Though no formal celebration of the holiday was held last year, the faculty coordinator is “hoping it will be celebrated at Rider every year from now on.”

Not only will the new tradition continue, but judging by the Spring Festival’s success, Mandel expects next year’s program to be even larger.

“I am hoping it will be celebrated at Rider every year from now on,” said Mandel. “The
program will be expanded to include more Rider students and community members.”

Sanda students were responsible for the event’s success, but weren’t the only Rider students to benefit from it. Sophomore Rachel Levine, hundreds of miles away from her own home in Florida, also felt a sense of comfort and familiarity while attending the event.

“My mother was born in China, and raised me with a respect for these traditions,” Levine said. “Obviously I couldn’t celebrate with my family this year, but my mom did give me a red envelope before I left for school this semester.”

It is a Chinese tradition for elders to give red envelopes filled with money to their younger family members for the new year.

For Sanda students, the celebration’s turnout reflects that the Year of the Pig will mean great success.

“The event was better than I expected,” Peng said.