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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 2000)
LEFT: MICHAEL XIA (left), 9, and Daniel Zhou, 8, perform a series of magic tricks at the Chinese New Year celebration Saturday night. Zhou made a piece of paper “turn into money.” BELOW: THE LION DANCE TROUPE, from the Aslan Community and Cultural Center, performs the Lion Dance in the Centennial Room In the Nebraska Onion on Saturday night. The lions ate lettuce and threw pieces at the audience. The Chinese New Year celebration Is observed each year on the sec ond new moon after the winter solstice. BELOW LEFT. STUDENTS SELMA U LOO and Vivian Cheng Loo dance “The Good Shepherd,” a story from Psalms in the Bible, at the Chinese New Year celebration. Story by Jackie Blair Photos by Nikki Fox c community celebrates the Year of the Dragon 1 “Let’s go play, Maiky,” said a boy to his new friend. The two took off to play tag with all the other chil dren, who were from various ethnic backgrounds, in the back room, while their parents stayed and enjoyed the entertainment at the Chinese New Year Celebration in the Nebraska Union. The interaction between the children was exactly yy what Mandy Guo, Chinese (( L/jv 1J Students and Scholar 1 Association’s event organizer, * had in mind. COmC here to One of the goals of the cele bration was to create interac IV tion between the Chinese and i3 nur C yuuf Americans, Guo said. j . | More than 750 jieople par heritage With ticipated in the event, which ° was held Saturday to mark the fpirtf ip Year of the Dragon. ^ Wdf l HU l to The turnout was higher than y expected, so Guo was busy trU ty finding alternate seating for the latecomers. wnvirlovfl// ** “We only expected about . WUrlU,1Zrj Ml. 55Q pe0pie> so we had a great „ turnout,” Guo said. Don Wesely A traditional Chinese din mayor ner from Great China Buffet, 6145 O St., including egg rolls, rice and egg drop soup, was served buffet-style. As dinner ended, the attention switchedjo die stage, which was brightly decorated with red and gold, the tra ditional colors of Chinese New Year. Red symbolizes happiness, and gold symbolizes wealth. There was no black used because the Chinese believe it is a depressing color, said Jian Shan, CSS A vice president. Black is associated with death in China, Shan said. “Chinese don’t even like to buy black cars,” he said. Mayor Don Wesely kicked off the entertainment with a welcome address. He said he attended the celebration because part ofhis job is to reach out to different cultures of the community. “For you to come here to share your heritage with us, that is truly wonderful,” Wesely said. After door prizes, die first performance was the Lion Dance, which draws from Chinese martial arts. It was performed by the Asian Community and Cultural Center’? Lion Dance Troupe, founded and led by Gary Yuen, a UNL plant pathology professor. “The Lion Dance ushers in the good luck and expels the bad,” said Ray Petersen, one of the dancers and a junior at Lincoln High School. “That’s why it’s the first performance of the evening.” The fifth performance of the night was a Chinese kung-fu demonstration that was performed by Jeremy Jewell, a UNL freshman international business major. There were two comedy skits that CSSA members wrote and acted in. The first one, “Happily Ever After,” was a reflection of the Chinese students’ lives at the uni versity. The other comedy, “The Culture about Eating,” showed how Chinese children living in the United States struggle when learning the English language. The rest of the 22 performances included children’s dances, magic tricks, soloists and calligraphy. AH of the performances were in Chinese, so a pro jected screen next to the stage gave English translations, mi Guo said she hoped the celebration would identify not only the differences but also the similarities between both cultures. One of CSSA’s goals for the celebration was to raise enough money to sponsor one school library through the U.S.-based Adopt a Rural School Library in China Program. The program will provide better education and opportunities for Chinese children who live in rural areas of China. Donations were being taken throughout the night. There are about 450 Chinese students at the universi ty, and many of those in attendance were their guests. However, there were some who came for other reasons. Arlene Smith, a graduate student in the Teachers College, said: “I came here to become a better teacher in the rapidly changing cultural scene of Nebraska.” Adam Ahlmeyer, a Southeast Community College student, said he attended simply because he wanted a taste of Chinese culture. Guo said she was pleased with the event. “All in all, I think the celebration went very success- % ful; I’m very happy,” Guo said. Guo also said she is>ery appreciative or all the sup port the university has given CSSA. The University Program Council, Nebraska Alumni Association and international Affairs all sponsored the celebration. - The evening came to a close with the performers joined on stage, singing “Great China” as die children said goodbye to their new friends.