ASU holds Lunar New Year event

A Lunar New Year event organized by Asian Student Union was held in the South Cafeteria at David Douglas High School on Feb. 2 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The event was originally scheduled for Jan. 19 but was postponed to Feb. 2 due to the unsafe weather conditions that canceled school for the whole week of Jan. 14. Lunar New Year is a celebration that marks the beginning of the year according to the lunar calendar and is celebrated throughout Asia. Lunar New Year traditions include family reunions, distributing red envelopes, fireworks and parades, and cleaning your house. Chinese New Year assigns an animal from the Chinese zodiac to each year. There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, and these animals are very important to Chinese culture. 2024 is the year of the Dragon, the fifth out of the twelve animals, and symbolizes evolution, improvement, and abundance. 

ASU's Lunar New Year event was free for all people to attend. It featured K-pop dancing by ASU members, lion dancing from White Lotus, and fan dancing by ASU members. A variety of free Asian food was served as well. Attendants could make crafts at the craft tables and there was also a photo-booth. People had the opportunity to support ASU by purchasing raffle tickets. 

The K-pop performances consisted of short choreographies from songs "Perfect Night" by LE SSERAFIM, "FEARLESS" by LE SSERAFIM, and "SHOOTING STAR" by XG. The performers coordinated denim and white outfits. For the fan dance, performers wore traditional Vietnamese attire called áo dài and ACE advisor Vy provided ASU with the fans. Each individual member brought their own outfits for their performances. 

ASU began preparations and brainstorming ideas for the Lunar New Year event around November of 2023. The advisor of the club is Debbie Kiyokawa.

"ASU allows me to embrace my heritage at school," said junior member Katelyn Vo. "Especially through events like the Lunar New Year Event. It's heartwarming."