Kat’s Adventure Abroad, Part Six
Kat explores the culture and traditions of the Chinese New Year celebration
By Katherine Diaz Villegas
If you are considering studying abroad in Hong Kong, I highly recommend coming during the winter quarter. Not only is the weather more bearable than the intense summer heat, but you get to witness the four-day celebration of the Chinese New Year.
When I first got to SCAD Hong Kong at the beginning of January, I remember seeing a lot of decoration around the airport and in town centers. I thought this was a normal thing as I hadn’t encountered this experience before. The one element that kept popping up and repeating were images and sculptures of dogs.
Totally oblivious, I didn’t make the connection until later that it was because it is the Year of the Dog and that’s why I was seeing so many references to them. All I knew of the big celebration before coming to Hong Kong was that people give and receive red envelopes containing money to bring luck over the next year. The Chinese New Year follows a 12-year cycle of the Zodiac animals and, like the astrology signs that are more popular in the Western world, they determine your personality traits based on when you are born.
After getting back from my trip to Sri Lanka, I had one day of classes and then a perfectly-timed national holiday to recuperate from my busy travels and get ahead on assignments. Coming back to school, red lanterns and decorations were put up everywhere. Because of the holiday, most students leave earlier that week to spend the Lunar New Year with their family, and because the celebrations sometimes last for two weeks or more here, there were barely any students left at SCAD.
Though I mainly used my time to work, I did venture out to see some of the events. There are many things to do; each day provides new activities to discover. Just walking around the city you can see art installations and sculptures. I attended the parade which featured incredible floats, performances by dance schools and entertainers. On the first night, there were fireworks which I recommend seeing on a dinner cruise. There are horse races, temples, dances, food festivals, and lanterns to see throughout the city. This experience has made my trip even more memorable and I’m so glad to have been able to witness such an incredible tradition and celebration.
