By Leanne Tan
The Asian Student Association (ASA) held its annual Lunar New Year (LNY) celebration at the Union last Saturday, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
“LNY is such a big event celebrated in multiple countries across Asia,” ASA underrepresented advocate Charmaine Chan said. “To be able to bring this celebration [to campus] is a great way to introduce people to Asian cultures.”
Similar to last year, this year’s celebration featured a variety of booths such as calligraphy, traditional tea and snacks. To take things up a notch this year, ASA included a performance section. Various cultural acts by Messiah students and performers from the Chinese Cultural Arts Institute in Harrisburg were showcased.
“Every year we try to make [the LNY celebration] bigger,” ASA president Fatimah Jan said. “One day in the future we hope that LNY, Diwali or other events that we have will become bigger so that we can have them at Brubaker.”
Through the event, Jan hoped to create a space for guests who have a deep attachment to the LNY festival to feel at home.
“Even though it’s not exactly how people celebrate at home, maybe they’ll see performances and snacks similar to back home,” Jan said. “So, creating a space for people to feel that it’s their space, that it’s their time to share in their culture and also to share it with people who never celebrated before.”
As one of five student organizations under the Multicultural Council, ASA strives to create a safe space for Asian and non-Asian students alike to discuss issues pertinent to the Asian community. ASA holds member meetings every other Thursday from 5-6pm at the MCC room on the upper level of Larsen Student Union. Questions about the LNY event and ASA can be directed to asa@messiah.edu.