The Redness of the Spring

Baoyan writes about Chinese Spring Festival and what it is like to celebrate New Years in her new home at the University of Limerick.

Can you feel the warmth of spring in Limerick? Daffodils are blossoming and sun is coming out from the gloomy clouds. It is February now.

Time for Chinese Spring Festival, last week we really felt the love of our Chinese students at UL. If you just walked around the campus, you will notice that a lot of areas are covered with red decorations, like red balloons or red bows. That’s the sign of celebration of Chinese New Year, also the Spring Festival.

In the Language Center of the University of Limerick, candy and lovely desserts are ready for the party. Chinese students said that they felt the kindness and welcoming minds of UL while spending such a great time with the faculties.

“It is my first time to spend my Spring Festival away from home,” a Chinese student Alicia said, “However, I don’t feel lonely at all but just a bit homesick.”

Spring Festival, is the traditional festival of China. It is regarded as the first day of a year according to the ancient calendar since ancient people calculate time from the changing shapes of the moon. Therefore, the date of Spring Festival is different on each calendar year since it is decided by the lunar calendar.

It is such a big day for Chinese people and it is also a day that would relate to the colour red. Red means fortune and happiness. It is a fierce colour that represents hopes and wishes. Also, there is a mascot for each year and the animal is decided by the zodiac. For this year, the mascot is the dog. There you will see slogans or signs with “Happy the Year of Dog” around.

So, how do our Chinese students celebrate their festival overseas?

Most of them gather together and made dumplings! They are 100% homemade and are really delicious. Sometimes they are cooked on their own or are made as part of a feast.

There is the other way for the reunion feast , to have the Hotpot! What is the hotpot? It is also a traditional Chinese dish (or the method of cooking). Preparing a pot with hot boiling soup and put all of the fresh meat or vegetable, anything you would like inside and wait until they are done. Everyone has had a great time coming together. That’s the core for Spring Festival.