8 THE CAMPUS PRESS JANUARY 31 - FEBRUARY 6, 2006 JANUARY 31 - FEBRUARY 6, 2006 THE CAMPUS PRESS 9

I N F OCUS »

The Chinese
Spring Festival,
known better in the U.S. as
the Chinese New Year, was
celebrated in Boulder and by
CU students this weekend. CP Photo/Niall Bouzon
Jim (left) and Rob Mascarelli perform a Chinese fighting dance during a Chinese New Year celebration

As of Sunday, at the UMC on Sunday, Jan. 27th. The performances were put on by Shaolin Hung Mei Kung Fu.

As part of the Chinese New Year celebration, Lion Dancers Baiding Li, Chenfei Lu, Zhuo Jin,Alexander
Ting, Lydia Halverson, and Sherry Soares enact a Lion Dance at the Golden Lotus on Friday, Jan. 27.
Welcome to the Year of
the Dog
Flashes of vibrant color,
unique costumes, sounds of
booming drums and rhythmic
dancing are all important ele-
ments when ringing in the
Chinese New Year.
Every year the Chinese
New Year jump-starts with a
series of events. Along with
the rest of the world, CU
honored this holiday. The
Chinese Student and Scholar
Association (CSSA) celebrat-
ed the event right here on
campus.
Lion Dancers Alexander Ting, Baiding Liu, Vicky Li, and
Victor Li celebrate the Chinese New Year at China Gourmet
on Friday Jan. 27.
“Since I was born, the
Chinese New Year has been
the most important holiday,”
said Jessica Liu, president of
CSSA and doctoral student in
mechanical engineering.
The CSSA sponsored
the Shaolin Hung Mei
Association, a local Kung Fu
school, to come to CU and
perform the traditional Lion
Dance.
“The event shows off
dance, but is also a time to
relax and enjoy the event
because that is the purpose of
the New Year,” said Andrew
Han, a sophomore business
CP Photo/Xiaomei Chen
CP Photo/Xiaomei Chen
major and member of the
CSSA.
“The show includes a
lot of different performances,
like Chinese traditional danc-
ing,” Liu said.
For the past seven years,
the CSSA has sponsored the
event here at CU. Around 800
people from all different com-
munities come to our show in
Boulder.
“The fact that we can
put an event like this together
in such a short time is amaz-
ing. We appreciate all of the
support,” said CSSA member
Timothy Wong, a sophomore
MCDB major.
Liu said about 70 per-
cent of the spring festival-
goers are Chinese and 30
percent are from other back-
grounds.
“I am a big believer in
diversity, so itʼs a great time
for the Chinese community
to show others about our cul-
ture,” Han said.
CSSA is a non-profit
student group that anyone can
join. The CSSA has approxi-
mately 300 active members.
The members of the group are
not only students but consist
of faculty and graduate stu-
dents. Families of the active
January 29, we commence
the year of the dog.
members can join, too. The
performance was held in the
Glenn Miller Ballroom Jan.
29.
The Chinese popu-
lation only makes up 1.15
percent of Boulderʼs popu-
lation. Although the number
of Chinese citizens living in
Boulder is not extraordinarily
high, this city still celebrates
the holiday by helping spread
awareness of Chinese cul-
ture.
“Boulder is not like Los
Angeles. We donʼt have a
China Town, but during the
Chinese New Year events it
becomes easier to meet other
Chinese people. Itʼs nice,”
Liu said.
Shaolin Hung Mei put
on a number of shows in the
Boulder area.
The colorful shows
included some of the students
who practice Kung Fu on a
regular basis. The students
in the show are of all ages,
the youngest being ten years
old. During the performance,
the school showcased the tra-
ditional Lion Dance, origi-
nating from an ancient story
that tells of how a town was
attacked by a creature called
the “Nien Shou.” In order to
get rid of the beast, the peo-
ple created a lion costume
and chased it away. Now the
Lion Dance is a ceremony per-
formed to ward off evil spirits.
Many Chinese feel that this
ceremony is the best way to
bring good luck for the upcom-
ing year.
There are two performers
to each Lion costume, one in
the back and one in the front.
The performersʼ job is to make
the Lion appear as real as pos-
sible by moving in a precise
form. The body portions of the
costumes have all the colors
of the rainbow swirling in dif-
ferent directions. The patterns
on the body, all different from
each other, are all beautiful in
their own way. The head of
the costume is the part that is
Story by Keryn Howarth fascinating. The eyes of the
lion bulge, surrounded by fur to
Design by Debra Thiegs make them even more intrigu-
ing. All the while the mouth
of the lion gently flaps open
and closed as the performer
wishes.
All of the dancers are in
complete unison with precise,
cat-like moves. Throughout the
background of the dance is a
booming sound of a drum that,
in conjunction with the danc-
ing, is believed to help bring
good luck. The other portion
of the performance has some
students doing a synchronized
dance on an apparatus with
twelve poles jutting out from the month. be reliable, loyal and caring.
it. The choreography within This year the Chinese are The Zodiacʼs rotating cycle
the dance consists of the stu- ringing in 2006 as the year of is a way for the Chinese to
dents balancing on one another the dog. According to Chinese name each year. The cycle
and jumping from pole to pole. culture, people born under the rotates twelve times before
Although the Shaolin Hung zodiac sign of the dog are said to it starts all over again.
Mei Association does put on
performances, their goal is not
simply to entertain.
“Our main goal is to raise
awareness of Chinese culture
and the teachings of traditional
Kung Fu,” said Howie Solow,
the owner of the Kung Fu
school.
The Chinese New Year is
the longest and most celebrat-
ed holiday within the Chinese
culture.
“The event marks the
beginning of a new year, the
upcoming arrival of spring,
and hopefully this festival will
bring us good luck,” Wong
said.
Families spend weeks
cleaning the house, gather-
ing family and cooking just
for this event. The reason the
Chinese New Year usually
falls later than the American
New Year (Jan. 1) is because
Chinese months follow a
lunar calendar. Typically, the
lunar calendar is based on
the lunar constructions of the
moon, with each new month
beginning on the darkest day. CP Photo/Niall Bouzon
A masked performer antagonizes the lion charac-
Chinese New Year celebra- ters during a lion dance put on by Shaolin Hung Mei
tions continue for fifteen days, Kung Fu. The performance was put on at the UMC on
ending on the brightest day of Sunday, Jan. 27th.