The Chinese Lantern Festival took place on Sunday, which is a traditional celebration that is part of Chinese New Year.
In China, the Lantern Festival marks when people take an entire week off just to spend with family. For Chinese students at OU, it provides an opportunity to celebrate with friends.
The Chinese Culture Exchange Association held an event for the highly notable Lantern Festival to conclude its Chinese New Year celebration. The Lantern Festival is the 15th and final day of the Spring Festival.
The festival already occurred in China over spring break, and consists of colorful lanterns hanging throughout the streets.
“We international students cannot spend the holidays overseas, (so) it’s great that we can all get together and celebrate with each other,” Jessie Wang, president of CCEA and a senior studying video production. “We are a big family here.”
About 60 people attended and spent time with people guessing riddles for prizes and playing American and Chinese games. Students enjoyed tea and tangyuan, a special dessert pudding, to end the celebration.
The Lantern Festival is traditionally spent with family, but the Chinese population on campus did its own makeshift celebration with what Athens could provide, said Shuwen Jiang, a senior studying finance.
“We cooked food in our apartment to celebrate,” Jiang said. “It was not the same as it would be in China, but it was close enough.”
More than 800 Chinese students study at Ohio University, which provides an opportunity for campus community members who may not have encountered the culture before to learn about Chinese traditions.
Precious Oluwasanya, a freshman studying history, heard about the event from International Women’s Day. She said she enjoyed learning how to play mahjong and talking with new people.
Wang said being a part of the international community has been a good representation of what it means to be a Bobcat.
“I went to LA over break touring different media studios, and I was so surprised, there are a ton of Bobcats in LA,” she said. “They help out each other too, and it’s like a small culture. It’s really nice that no matter where you are, being a Bobcat is like how international students feel in a strange place.”
Wang said although the festival had already passed, the organization wanted to throw this event to give international students a feeling of home, and to show that their culture is important.
“There are a lot of Chinese students here, and since I am in a strange place and I see another person who is Chinese, I am going to want to be friends with them and to get to know them better,” she said.
Wang said Chinese students form close bonds and help each other adapt to American life.
“This small town is very different,” Wang said “We want to help each other when we can.”
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