Many students on campus are getting ready to celebrate Lunar New Year Friday and Saturday, but celebrations this year will be different due to COVID-19. 

“Lunar year is usually celebrated with festivities [like] on New Year’s Eve, if you would consider it,” senior Alice Cai said. “There is usually performances from dancers, and then there’s floats and some events that botanical gardens would have or some Chinese cultural dance studios would host, and things like that which basically tells the story of Lunar Year and have time for everyone to celebrate.”

The Lunar New Year’s day is usually reserved for spending time with family. 

“On New Year’s Day, it’s reserved for family time,” Cai said. “So it’s like both of my parents would request a day off of work, for Chinese new year, and they would cook food and everything, and then we would just hang out together as a family.”

Traditions include eating special dishes with meanings and spending time with family. 

“Usually our family by having a get-together with friends and family.” sophomore Lilya Ma said. “During this we eat dumplings which represent wealth, fish for prosperity, and longevity noodles to represent happiness and longevity while watching live performances. We also exchange red envelopes which represent good luck and fortune.”

Due to the pandemic, families won’t be able to hold large gatherings this year. 

“Well obviously it’ll be different this year because we can’t have huge gatherings and stuff anymore,” sophomore Katherine Hung. “So I might just celebrate with my grandparents instead of friends.” 

Cai is going to miss performing dances for her friends and family. 

“I think I’m mostly going to miss performing for the dances because I am a dancer outside of school, and I do attend a Chinese cultural dance studio,” Cai said. “And usually every year we would put on a performance for our family and our friends, like a show for everyone to see, but this year we aren’t because of COVID. So I’m mostly going to miss that, but other than that, I’m really looking forward to spending some time with family, like usual and everything yeah.”