Chinese New Year exposes kids to culture

In the atrium of the Monroe County Public Library on Saturday, an array of children and parents bustled about.

Asian music played while children painted calligraphy, folded origami paper and made tiger masks with orange colored plates and felt whiskers.

Many of the children were dressed in traditional Chinese clothing, wearing red dresses or blouses.

In the Chinese culture, red is a symbol for energy and the spirit of the Chinese people — but for the New Year, red is the color used to scare away misfortune and evil spirits, such as the monster Nian.

One toddler, though smaller than most of the others, made up for her age with her enthusiasm. She ran around the area, full of energy, clad in a red tutu and a traditional Chinese shirt with a large pink flower in her hair.

The children participated in IU’s Asian Culture Center’s event, “It’s the Year of the Tiger! Lunar New Year Celebration,” which began with activities and crafts and was followed by performances and a Chinese cuisine buffet.  

The Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year, is celebrated across the globe and marks the occasion of the new moon. Volunteers from the ACC as well as Kappa Gamma Delta sorority helped with running the event.

Mai-Lin Poon, graduate assistant for the ACC, said she thought the celebration gave good exposure to the children, many of whom would not be able to celebrate the holiday in school.

“I think it’s great, there are lots of happy faces,” Poon said. “I’m glad we can give this to the community. It’s fun, just a little taste of culture.”

Emma O’Mahoney, 10, said her family celebrates the Chinese New Year because her sister was adopted from China. She said she wants other people similar to herself to enjoy learning about traditions and customs of other ethnic groups.

“They will realize they’re not the only ones who have the cool culture,” O’Mahoney said.

Kappa Gamma Delta sisters sophomore Amy Zhang, junior Szu-Chi Chao and senior Adeline Tjia, who assisted the kids with making tiger origami, agreed that their favorite thing about the event was being able to help other people.

After the craft activities ended, participants watched a performance that included a Mongolian musical recital, a story about a tiger and a dried persimmon and a traditional wedding and tea ceremony.

Children’s Librarian Mary Frasier, who told the story “The rabbit’s tail: A story from Korea,” said reading to children helps them in many ways.  “It’s a lot of fun to read to children,” Frasier said. “It’s a really nice way to convey cultural information and promote literacy and narrative skills to help them read.”

Subsequent to the performance, event attendees were able to chow down on celebratory Chinese cuisine such as Chinese doughnuts, crab rangoon and sushi.

Attendee Jane Li, 11, said she liked the musical performance and crafts at the New Year Celebration.

“I really like the string performance,” Li said. “Origami tigers — I like making stuff.”