The New Year celebration is the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar. According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2020 is the year of the Rat, which is associated with vitality. On January 30, 2020, the Asian Studies Research Club is organizing a Chinese festival to celebrate the Year of the Rat, at SWPS University. The students have prepared many attractions, including the presentation of Chinese horoscope, Chinese board games, a calligraphy workshops and a traditional New Year meal.
Everyone is welcome! Free admission.
The event will be conducted in English.
Over a quarter of the world population celebrates Chinese New Year. The Year of the Rat will begin on January 25, 2020 and end on February 11, 2021. Rat is the first in the 12-year cycle of Chinese zodiac. According to the Chinese horoscope, the Rat has characteristics of an animal with spirit, wit, alertness, delicacy, flexibility and vitality. To find out more about the Chinese predictions for the coming year and to learn about other traditions associated with the New Year Festival, plan to attend the Chinese New Year celebration at SWPS University.
Chinese tea
Those interested will be able to learn more about the different ways of brewing tea, its properties and origin.
Competition
During the Chinese New Year celebrations there will be a competition. The participants’ task will be to unpack, at a given time, a solidly wrapped gift wearing thick kitchen gloves. The person who unpacks the gift first wins.
Chinese calligraphy workshop
During the celebration, everyone will have an opportunity to try their hand at Chinese calligraphy, an extremely important skill. A set of special calligraphy paper as well as brushes and ink will be prepared for each person.
Chinese board games
Mahjong (麻将 majiang) is a game for up to four players that originated in China during the Qing dynasty. The game is played with a set of 144 tiles (reminiscent of domino tiles), which are divided into four main groups (similar to suits in the Western card games) and several sub-groups, such as Winds, Dragons, Flowers, and Seasons.
Chinese horoscope is different form the Western one, which is based on the Greek tradition. Although there are also 12 signs in the Chinese Zodiac, each sign corresponds to one full year, not one month as it is in the Western horoscope. Therefore, the Chinese Zodiac creates a 12-year, not a 12-month cycle. Instead of star constellations, twelve animals denote the signs of the Chinese Zodiac. It is believed that the character of a person born in the year of a given animal is influenced by the traits of that creature.
The animals of the Chinese Zodiac change every 12 years and each sign is associated with one of the five Chinese elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water). Therefore, the complete cycle of the Chinese Zodiac takes 60 years to complete.
The Year of the Rat begins on January 25, 2020 and will end on February 11, 2021. It is the year of good and selfless acts, it is also a year of a realistic and sober look at the world. During the event, students will present the Chinese Horoscope for 2020, for all zodiac signs, including: the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. They will also talk about the characteristics of each Zodiac sign.
During the event everyone will have an opportunity to try traditional Chinese dumplings and salads, such as algae and spicy cucumber will be served as a side to the dumplings. Chinese fortune cookies, sweets and drinks will be available during the entire event.
Jiaozi dumplings (饺子) – a kind of Chinese dumpling, filled with ground meat and steamed, is one of the major foods eaten during the Chinese New Year. Preparing and eating jiaozi plays an important role in the celebration.