By Yimu Pan, Global Ambassador from China
Lunar New Year, one of the most important representations of Asian cultures, has been celebrated for thousands of years. It highlights people’s and families’ future wishes. Based on the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, each year is represented by a different animal. 2018 is the year of dog.
The 2018 Penn State Harrisburg Lunar New Year celebration was held on Friday, March 23, 2018. The event brought together people from different backgrounds, both from Penn State Harrisburg, and the Middletown community, celebrating, and extending well wishes for the new year.
Dr. Robert Crane, the Associate Vice Provost for Global Programs at University Park, and Dr. Felicia Brown-Haywood, the Director of Student Affairs at Harrisburg, kicked off the event with opening remarks. The crowd especially loved Dr. Felicia’s Chinese New Year song which caught everyone’s attention.
After enjoying the delicious food prepared by Royal Buffet and Grill, the first event was a cultural presentation, “Lunar New Year in Korea”, by Dr. Nakho Kim. It was followed by another cultural speech titled “The Unity”, presented by Yukun Yuan, a Global Ambassador from China. These two different perspectives expanded the audiences’ understanding of the Lunar New Year.
Additionally, there were performances which represented both modern and traditional Asian cultures. These performances gave the audience a feel of cultural backgtounds from Mongolia, Korea, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and more. The performances were impressive not only because of their entertaining quality, but also because of the cultural diversity and learning opportunity they provided. A Korean Song “Stay with Me” was presented by a Korean student, PyeongKang Kim and a Chinese student, Xuanrui Zhang. Additionally, Jose Jonhson’s Chinese Martial Art & Wellness Center, a group of local Americans, presented a “Martial Art Demo”. Later on, Chloe Cho and Ye Sung Hwang presented a Korean Church Song “Hallelujah” which illustrated the development of Christianity in Korea. At the end of certain presentations, the audience had an opportunity to win prizes by answering questions. The questions facilitated learning among the audience.
After the performances, there was a fashion show, which was one of the highlights of the event. The aim of the fashion show was to celebrate different types of traditional clothing because clothing is a direct representation of culture. The fashion show was divided into two groups, modern and classic. The classic fashion show participants showed off traditional clothing from their home country while the modern participants showed off their modern style. All the participants were enthusiastic and tried to express their culture to everyone through their outfits. The panel of judges consisted of professors, Global Ambassadors, and community volunteers from different countries. At the end, Consul Wu and Consul Wang from the Consulate General of China, New York, presented the fashion show winners gift cards provided by Royal Buffet.
After the event, a survey was conducted by the Chinese Student Association, that showed that the audience enjoyed the event. Among the performances, the martial art performance and Fashion Show were highly appreciated.
Overall, the event really embodied the essence of the Global Ambassadors program. On one hand, the event gave the audience an opportunity to learn more by bringing out the uniqueness of Asian cultures through presentations, clothing, and food. On the other hand, with the diversity of the presenters and the audience, each person had the opportunity to think globally by remembering that there is a whole world outside of their individual countries, and expand horizons beyond their individual cultures. As different cultures spread and influence each other, people become more open-minded. The presence of a variety of cultures add color to everyone’s life.
“Learn More, Think Globally, Expand Horizons” – Global Ambassadors motto.