“Year of the Mouse” Celebrated During 2020 Lunar New Year Event

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. –– Illinois Wesleyan University will celebrate the 2020 Lunar New Year with food, music and dancing to ring in the “Year of the Mouse” on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Hansen Student Center. This event is free and open to the public.

An important holiday in many Asian countries, the Lunar New Year celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese calendar –– 2020 is the Year of the Mouse, which symbolizes abundance, success, creativity and intelligence.

IWU’s Lunar New Year Celebration is co-sponsored by the Chinese Culture and Communication Club (CCCC), the Japanese Language and Culture Club and Cypher Dance Club. The event presents how various countries celebrate this holiday. It will feature a buffet of Asian cuisine and live cultural performances.

“Illinois Wesleyan’s celebration of the Lunar New Year is a decades-old tradition. This is a long-standing annual cultural event that you cannot miss,” said Ricardo Yinzhe Lu ’20, president of CCCC.

This year’s performances will include a traditional Chinese Lion Dance by local middle school students, a dance routine by the Cypher Dance Team, a fan dance by the Japanese Language and Culture Club, and a Chinese pop song by professional violinist Andy Wang. Between performances, the performers will briefly share their personal experience with the Lunar New Year.

This year’s Lunar New Year Celebration theme is “What’s your story?” Rather than simply informing the audience on Asian culture, this event will focus more on individual growth and journeys.

By Megan Baker ’21