An occasion of familial gathering and joyful festivity, Lunar New Year holds a significant place in the hearts of many. With traditional food and games an

d sharing red envelopes of lucky money, people all around the world gather to welcome the arrival of the earth’s next orbit around the sun.

On Feb. 3, Seattle Pacific University’s Asian American Student Association teamed up with the Korean Student Association and International Student Club to plan and host a LNY celebration for students and faculty across campus. The event featured traditional southeast Asian food, music, decorations and games. It took place in a brightly-lit room that filled up with staff and students throughout the evening.

Amidst the room of games and chattering, several students reflected on their personal experiences and connections to LNY.

Prompted to speak on his observance of the holiday, junior biochemistry major Vaughn Poon summarized his memories of LNY as exchanging greetings and enjoying time spent with family and friends.

“Coming from [a Chinese] cultural background, Lunar New Year’s a really important event,” said Poon. “For us, it’s a celebration of a new year, so it’s a time for family gathering and fun and games and a lot of eating for everybody.”

As treasurer of AASA, Poon played a part in the budgeting and planning for Thursday’s event.

Similarly to Poon, junior communication major Andy Kim described his LNY experience as an opportunity to get together with relatives and enjoy their company throughout the holiday.

“I would visit my grandparents on my father’s side every time during Lunar Year, we would have good Chinese food, spend the holidays together and just get the family together,” said Kim. “So, it was very meaningful for me every year when that happened.”

One goal of the event organizers was to create an accessible, inclusive environment that reached as many SPU students and faculty as possible.

AASA vice president and junior art illustration major Jada Inouye described her role in planning and advertising the event through designing the official LNY poster. She pointed out her particular attention to detail in the poster in order to grab people’s attention and pique their interest in the event.

“I tried to incorporate the animal of the 2022 year and the lucky colors, which are red and gold,” said Inouye. “And just kind of like fun with it, give it a nice design [and] make sure it stands out, so that when people see it they’re like, ‘Ooh what is this event?’”

Inouye also spoke a bit of the intent behind the organization of the festival.

“I think it’s nice to be able to come together as an Asian community and get to celebrate such a big event,” said Inouye. “[It was also good] to share the culture with other people on campus who may not have celebrated this event before.”

As AASA president, senior nursing major Emily Nguyen dedicated a lot of time into initiating and putting together the event. She expressed her joy at seeing the outcome of people, saying that this had been the most fun LNY celebration during her four years at SPU.

“I hope that [this tradition] will grow,” said Nguyen. “Because we do have a caring and wonderful community here that is willing to celebrate with us.”

Tearing up, Nguyen described that her desire had been to fulfill her visions of bringing the SPU community together through this LNY event. She explained her thoughts on how the event planners had set a certain standard that future generations should live up to.

“After I leave SPU, I really hope that students will continue this tradition, share the culture,” said Nguyen. “We want to be inviting to all.”