Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is one of the most important and widely celebrated festivals in the Chinese and many other Asian cultures.  

The festival’s date is determined by the lunar calendar and signifies the end of winter and beginning of spring.  

“This year marks the start of the Year of the Dragon. In Chinese culture, the dragon symbolizes power, honor, good luck and success,” said Dandan Liu, director of Missouri State University’s office of China programs. 

Missouri State will host a Chinese New Year celebration on campus from 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Feb. 9. It will feature cultural activities and experiences that are free and open to the public.   

Join in the celebration  

The celebration will take place in Siceluff Hall, Room 124.  

9:30 a.m. 

Traditional Chinese musical instruments demonstration by Dr. John Prescott, MSU music professor, and the Chinese Music Ensemble. 

10 a.m. 

Chinese painting workshop by Hing Wah Hatch, a local artist.   

10:30 a.m. 

Chinese song performance by Qiuyan Shen, MSU graduate student.  

11 a.m.  

Traditional Chinese musical instruments demonstration by Jiawei Yan, MSU junior student.  

Noon 

Chinese New Year culture elements by Dr. Weirong Schaefer, senior instructor, MSU department of languages, cultures and religions.  

1 p.m. 

Tea ceremony and Tai Chi performance by Sean Gong, China programs specialist, MSU College of Business, Weiguang Ni and Yi Cai, Chinese visiting scholars. 

1:30-4 p.m. 

Chinese dumpling workshop by Chinese visiting scholars Yali Ma, Lingwen Kong, Ni, Cai, Qiang Fan and Yahua Zhu.  

2:30 p.m. 

Chinese painting workshop by Hatch. 

3 p.m.  

Chinese calligraphy demonstration by Kai Zhang, MSU junior student.   

Find out more about Chinese New Year