Lipscomb students celebrate Lunar New Year with authentic Chinese cuisine
The Asian Connection, also known as “A-CON,” collaborated with Lipscomb’s Honors College to kick off the Year of the Dragon on Wednesday, Jan. 31. Edmund Zhu partnered with Sydni Caldwell, program coordinator of the Honors College, to draw communities on campus together through a Chinese meal.
The room was adorned with Chinese decorations suspended from the ceiling and hanging from the walls.
Lunar New Year, which is commonly known as “Chinese New Year,” falls on a different date each year. 2024 is the Year of the Wood Dragon, beginning on Feb. 20. Chinahighlights.com informs that the Dragon “symbolizes power, nobility, honor, luck, and success.” 2024 is expected to bring these virtues. The Wood Dragon is associated with a “growth, vitality, and the blossoming of wisdom.” Because of this, some believe that this is the time to make a significant change in their lives.
Zhu, a sophomore biology major from Smyrna, TN, shared a piece of himself with those who attended with a meal selection from his family’s restaurant: Song Da. “… Last week we planned, ‘Hey wouldn’t it be great to have international Chinese cuisine?’ So, we decided to bring Chinese food from our restaurant, and now we’re here.”
Song Da is located in Smyrna, TN and opened 14 years ago. People stacked their plates with crab rangoons, veggie rolls, fried rice, noodles and orange chicken and did not leave any scraps.
The line extended out the door of the small building as people waited to partake in the feast. “It went really well.” Zhu said, “Everything went out in 30 minutes!”
With the added ambience of an Asian soundtrack, Chad Phan, a Junior/Senior biology premed major and social justice minor from McMinnville, TN explained the significance of Lunar New Year. “Rather than ‘Chinese New Year,’ we are changing the way we say it … to be mindful of other cultures that do celebrate it.” Countries such as South Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam and others also participate in the annual festivity.
The date of the event is also significant. “What the Chinese and many other Asian countries do is follow the cycle of the moon.” Phan explained. “So on Chinese or Lunar New year, there is typically a full moon, and it starts on the first day of spring.”
Other students, such as Shadai Hernandez, a Junior marketing major from Nashville, described the event as “fulfilling.” “It made me want to learn more about Chinese New Year,” she said.
Sophomores Isabelle Araujo, a marketing major, and her sister, Victoria, a computer science major, both from Nashville, seemed to enjoy the gathering as well. “I think this is a great way to get so many people together to celebrate and appreciate Asian culture.” Isabelle said.
The Year of the Dragon ends on Jan. 28, 2025 and after that comes the Year of the Snake. A-CON has more events planned for this semester—including to commemorate the official date of Lunar New Year 2024. To keep up with future events, you can follow them here.
