Spring Festival celebration on campus

The day of celebration showcased aspects of East Asian culture

ONCE again the University of Huddersfield has seen in the New Year in with style.  The Lunar New Year, as celebrated by the countries and cultures of East Asia.

With hundreds of students from China, Malaysia, South Korea, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the annual Spring Festival marking their new year is a major annual highlight on the campus.  There was a day of celebration when members of the student societies from East Asia showcased aspects of their culture.  And the University’s catering department entered into the spirit by offering Oriental specialities during the week of the Lunar New Year.

The festival gave students from the UK and scores of other countries around the world a chance to gain fascinating insights into the differing cultures of East Asia and to share the celebrations.

It is now the Year of the Pig and the Spring Festival culminated in a showcase mounted by the University’s Chinese Students Society.  Featuring 60 performers, it drew an audience of hundreds to St Paul’s Concert Hall.

The President of the society, Yongjia Xu, said it had been pleasure to help organise the event, which was of great importance to Chinese students and to Chinese people living in Huddersfield.

“The gala enriches the lives of our students and is also a valuable opportunity to develop their abilities to organise such an event,” he added.

Alan Tobi, International Student Experience Manager, said: “We recognise how important this celebration is to our students and how necessary it is that our student body understand its origins.

“The University takes great pride in acknowledging the efforts and contributions of our students that made the celebrations such a great success.  It was fantastic to see British, European, African and American students integrating within the activities, helping to develop their global mind-sets.”

During the Spring Festival, a sum of over £500 was raised for the China Children and Teenagers’ Foundation.  The University’s China Office has a long-standing connection with this charity and later in the year a party of students and staff will travel to China to witness its work.