Sabrina Ying is one of our new ambassadors from Shanghai. Her plan sounds lovely and relaxing:
“We are planning to spend our family reunion in a warm island, Hai Nan island! We love beach and relaxing atmosphere.”
Remembering her time at Loughborough having graduated in 2006 and 2008, Sabrina added:
“We made many dumplings with friends together and had big dinner and parties afterwards!”
Jacky Wang, also in Shanghai, said:
“In China, the country I come from, it is also a time for family reunion and blessings. So I am going to plan to get together with my family and have a New Year's Eve dinner, put up Spring Festival couplets, watch the Spring Festival Gala, and so on.
“I can only think of one keyword: reunion; it is the happiest thing to be with family and friends during the Lunar New Year.”
Jacky was in Loughborough during the pandemic, meaning he couldn’t spend the special time of year at home. Regardless, he reminisces on some wonderful celebrations:
“We invited our good friends to cook dinner together and had a great time enjoying it. It was a precious memory that I always go back to because it carries a lot of emotions and moments that are worth looking back on.”
Charlie Williams moved to China following his studies. Originally from the UK, he is now based in Beijing. He has described the holiday and festivities much like Christmas:
“The last couple of years I have spent my new year celebrations with my girlfriends family in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. This year we plan to let off a lot of fireworks and of course, eat A LOT of food! Throughout the holiday it's great to visit different family members, catch-up and exchange gifts, much like Christmas is back home.”
It’s not only since being in China that Charlie has been able to celebrate. During his time at Loughborough, he said:
“When I was at university, the language school had just started a language buddy scheme for those learning Mandarin. We had been matched with students from the Chinese community and we would meet once a week to do language exchange. When it came around to Chinese New Year, we would all be invited to their house to cook, eat and celebrate the New Year’s Eve together - I remember my friends being incredible cooks!”
Charles Li is also in Beijing and says “Lunar New Year Festival is a traditional holiday season. Normally the festival runs from the mid of last month to the mid of first month of Lunar calendar. Current days people celebrate the New Year based on the ancient folklore and blend the tradition with contemporary lives. There will be different traditional ceremonies to celebrate the New Year across various regions.”
It's not always just about the fireworks and parties. For Charles, the event is a time to “clean the house, make dumplings and traditional steamed breads, play fireworks and visit family members.
“As every family play the fireworks almost at the same time, it is splendid to see the fireworks in winter and it is almost once every year chance to see the large fireworks. When I was young, getting New Year money is also fun as I can have spare money to get sweets!
“In Loughborough, we celebrated the New Year by getting together and make some special foods to celebrate the festival. Also, we sometimes put on a Chinese calligraphy at the door to wish for the happiness, luck and fortune.”
Ashleigh Vilk is our International Alumni Ambassador in Hong Kong SAR. She has a lovely family plan for the festivities:
“We are having the grandparents over to Hong Kong. We’re looking forward to taking them to some of the famous markets like Ladies market in Mong Kok but also hoping to catch a drone show on the waterfront which are always spectacular.”
In Shenzhen, Winston Mo is also planning dinner with family on New Year’s Eve and will visit friends and relatives on the first day of the New Year. We asked Winston what his favourite memory of the special time of year is:
“I think the most precious Spring Festival memory for me is the Spring Festival fireworks with my childhood friends. Fireworks are regulated to some extent in China, and the Spring Festival is a rare opportunity for children to set off fireworks. We usually buy a large batch of fireworks and break them into small pieces so that they can be played for a long, long time.”
Diane Dorai is in Malaysia, and she will be celebrating the Year of the Dragon with her family and neighbours. She said:
“Every family celebrating has their own customs and food during the Lunar New Year. Our neighbours invite us over every year, and it feels special taking part in their customs and enjoying their speciality food.”
During her time at Loughborough, Diane was part of the Chinese Christian Fellowship: “they would organise yearly Lunar New Year functions. It was a wonderful experience sharing with students from all over the world”.
From the University, our Special Envoys have sent some well wishes for the New Year.
Professor Ksenia Chmutina, Special Envoy for East Asia, said:
“Dragons are energetic yet idealistic, so let’s spend this Year of Dragon making changes that would turn our world into a better place for all; let’s imagine the unimaginable; let’s hope and make our hopes come true. May the Year of Dragon bring you all good fortune and luck!”
Her fellow Special Envoy for East Asia is Professor Wen-Feng Lin. He said:
“I am a native Chinese speaker, graduated from Xiamen University with BSc, MSc and PhD degrees, and was a Lecturer then Associated Professor before I worked abroad and settled in the UK. I celebrate Chinese New Year with family and friends every year, with traditional festival foods and decorations, and holding or attending parties. In the coming Year of Dragon, I wish you all the best for a happy and healthy new year ahead!”
Dr Mey Goh, a Reader in the Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical, and Manufacturing Engineering, is a Special Envoy for South-East Asia, and she grew up in Malaysia. She added:
“Maintaining a strong connection to the region is both important and personal to me, as I still love and miss everything from my family and friends to the food and culture. For me, the new year is a special time for catching up with family and friends and a great excuse to enjoy lots of delicious home-cooked food. Living in the UK, I will especially miss the festive atmosphere, so I will be getting into the festive spirit by baking special celebration cookies.”
Mey’s fellow Special Envoy for South-East Asia is Professor Eef Hogervorst, who said:
“I have worked in East and South-East Asia for almost 20 years. I enjoy this very much, as I have some Chinese and Indonesian genes (via my mum) and going there and eating the wonderful food, meeting the lovely people always makes my heart sing.
“I wish everyone a great time during the festivities. Happy Year of the Dragon.”
However it is that you are celebrating the Year of the Dragon, we hope you have a wonderful time.