Students of the University of Glasgow Share their Thoughts
For Chinese students, Lunar New Year’s Day is a day of celebration and hope. It is a time when families gather together, creating memories with loved ones. Most European countries use the Gregorian Calendar, which does not correspond to the traditional Chinese Calendar. This means that many Chinese students are unable to celebrate the Lunar New Year back home. Instead, they had the opportunity to attend the University of Glasgow’s Chinese Students and Scholars Association’s Lunar New Year’s Day Gala.
This year’s gala was held on 20 February at the Queen Margaret Union and was open to both students and non-students. Prominent figures in attendance included the Chinese Consul General in Edinburgh, Zhang Biao, who appeared to enjoy the show.
Each Chinese Lunar New Year cycles through twelve animals and five elements. Last year was the year of the Wood Snake. This Lunar New Year is the year of the Fire Horse. The Fire Horse occurs once every sixty years and symbolises freedom and success. The Horse embodies leadership, loyalty and empowerment. Fire represents enthusiasm, good energy and creativity.
The show began with the lion dance, a traditional Chinese dance which is said to bring fortune and luck. The dance requires great skill and synchronisation between the dancers. Subsequent performances included traditional Chinese costumes and music. A Chinese band performed modern rock pieces near the end of the show, which culminated with an impressive singing performance that included some of the gala’s hosts.
Some of the students in attendance were reflective, looking back at the previous year while anticipating the months to come. Yuting Tian, a PhD student at the University of Glasgow, said that she misses her family and gets melancholic this time of year. Back home, Yuting would typically gather with loved ones on the first day of the Lunar New Year celebration. But now, abroad for her PhD, she has not had the chance to experience those moments. For her, the year of the Fire Horse is significant: as the Horse symbolises leadership and success, she hopes to have a great and successful year, especially with her degree and job search. Above all, she wishes for kindness and love between people.
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Wenling Xing, who goes by Vivi and is one of the hosts of the gala, has high aspirations for this new year. Vivi sees this year as a year of ‘hope’ and ambition. It feels important to her as she believes that she will encounter challenges and will have to make major decisions. As it is also the year of adventure and success, Vivi hopes to experience both in her professional and personal life. Her biggest goal is to successfully finish her postgraduate degree at the University of Glasgow and secure a job after graduating. Vivi wants to create a personal brand with high visibility across social media, becoming a content creator with the ability to work both online and offline. Most importantly, she wishes that her relationship will grow even stronger.
For Antau Yang, a key organiser of the gala who spent the evening assisting attendees, the year of the Fire Horse is a year of hope. He wishes that everything goes well for him this year. What he finds particularly special is that the year of the Fire Horse happens once every six decades, and consequently, people don’t experience it many times in their lifetime.
Every student at the gala, whether part of the show, the staff or a guest, all gathered having already set their own aspirations and goals. However, there appeared to be a common sentiment shared by each of them: may the year of the Fire Horse bring joy and prosperity to all.
(Image Credit: Theodora Tsali, Chinese Students and Scholars Association)
