SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC NEWS) — Red lanterns, steaming dumplings and bright red envelopes marked Lunar New Year celebrations across Syracuse University on Tuesday. More than 1.5 billion people worldwide observe the holiday, which begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar. On campus and just off Marshall Square, students and local businesses brought those traditions to life.
For international student Donald Ma from Hong Kong, the holiday is usually filled with friends and festivities. “Me and my friends usually went out for dinner tonight, and we would go to some party, for example, drinking, and maybe go to a karaoke,” Donald said.
This year ushers in the Year of the Fire Horse, a zodiac sign associated with energy, confidence and bold decisions. It is a rare one: The Fire Horse combination appears only once every 60 years as the Chinese zodiac cycles through 12 animals and five elements.
One of the most recognizable traditions is the giving of red envelopes, known as hongbao, typically passed from elders to younger family members as a symbol of luck and protection.
The celebration also extended to campus dining halls, where chefs prepared hundreds of pounds of dumplings — foods traditionally shaped like ancient gold ingots to symbolize wealth, love and togetherness in the new year. Chef Brian says the cultural variety keeps his kitchen busy in the best way. “As a chef who’s got love for food and love for what he does, being in a collective community like this, where you get to celebrate all of the nation’s holidays, means I’m throwing a party once a week, and that’s a really good job to have,” Brian said…