The 30th birthday celebration of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association is the biggest event they’ve thrown yet.
Rather than lasting one night, this years’ recognition of Chinese culture lasts the entire week of Feb. 16^th and culminates with a Chinese culture night on Feb. 20^th.
This week’s events ranged from Chinese movie showings, to Chinese art and traditional fashion showcasing. The biggest events, however, are the Chinese Street Fair which takes place today, Feb. 19th by the EMU, and China Night on Friday Feb. 20th in the EMU ballroom at 6:30 p.m., where the association anticipates more than 400 attendees.
“We don’t just want Chinese students to come to our event,” said CSSA President Xuewei Wang. “Sometimes its hard to find American student friends, so we want to use this time to come together.”
The goal of CSSA’s China Week, Wang said, is to teach students the significance of certain Chinese traditions.
One such tradition involves family gifts of red envelopes filled with money or candy given to children during the Chinese New Year. Since the holiday falls during China Week, those who attend China Night will receive a red envelope.
“Parents give this to their child to say good luck and ‘I hope you grow,’” said Wang.
She said the envelope is red, a color symbolizing luck and all things good.
China Night will feature traditional dancing and games, while authentic Chinese foods will be showcased at the street fair.
Yongcan Chen, President of HOSA International Commercial Group, said that sometimes there are misunderstandings about Chinese culture. He noted orange chicken as an example. He said it’s a misconception that the dish a popular food item in China.
“People may have heard something on a surface level, but they don’t know the deep Chinese culture,” Chen said. “China Week is an opportunity to express Chinese culture.”
He said that beyond enriching the UO community with Chinese culture, China Week can help international Chinese students cope with being away from home.
“Many people miss home and China Week holds Chinese students together and lets them feel the atmosphere of the environment that they miss,” Chen said said. “I can’t go back to China for Chinese New Year, but CSSA created this thing at UO to let Chinese people be happy during the Chinese New Year.”
Wang said she hopes students utilize China Week as an opportunity to immerse themselves in Chinese culture and interact with students from unfamiliar backgrounds.
“We want all UO students to know Chinese culture and talk to us and play with us,” she said. “We want a close connection and that’s our organization’s main idea.”