Annual event at OSU rings in first day of the Year of the Dog

Flitting under the multicolored lights of the Memorial Union Ballroom, a group of small girls in red dresses darted like a small school of crimson fish from table to table, giggling all the while. Their tightly braided hair, wound around with green ribbons and red bows, bobbed up and down as they ran, and their black patent-leather shoes clicked rhythmically as they whisked around the room.

“What shall we do now we’re bored?” one whispered to another, and grasping each other, they spontaneously burst into a can-can.

Oregon State University’s annual China Night is an immensely popular event and falls at the beginning of Chinese New Year. Tickets sell out early each year, and volunteers clamor to help with the event. This year, under the direction Chinese Association of OSU President Tian Qin, more than 50 volunteers helped set up tables, hang paper lanterns and cook a nine-dish Chinese meal. Many students and community members also came forward to perform during the event, which included 13 short programs, from dancing and singing to a fashion show.

Sunday was the first day of the Lunar New Year in China. The lunar cycle contains 12 years, each year named after a particular animal sacred to Buddha. This Lunar Year is the Year of the Dog.

“The dog, in China, is loyal,” Qin explained. “It can also bring fortune to the family.” She pointed to a brightly colored decoration on one of the ballroom pillars, depicting a dancing Pomeranian with money at his feet.

On the tables, piles of wrapped candy and bright red envelopes were placed at each setting.

“There are lots of symbols,” she explained. “The red envelopes contain lucky money, but here they contain menus. The candy means you’ll have a sweet life.”

In one of the dressing rooms, women and girls were getting ready for their performance. The adults were conversing in Chinese, while the children giggled and joked in English. Feng Wu moved from one woman to the next, carefully pulling hair tight and pinning it in place, and adding lacy red silk flowers to the coiffures. Ling-Ling Wang was holding a hand mirror in front of her as she watched Wu work.

Wang, of Corvallis, was one of the adults performing a dance called “Going Home.” She said she enjoys coming to China Night each year.

“I like it very much,” she said. “Last time I was singing.”

Stephanie Wang, 12, was getting ready to do the “Happy Days,” dance.

“In the song they talk about being happy for the New Year,” she said.

Stephanie, who attends Linus Pauling Middle School, said she’s been to China Night ever since she can remember. She wasn’t sure what the Year of the Dog would bring, but last year was an important year for her.

“Last year was the (year of the) Rooster,” she said, “and I’m a rooster.”

Jiayin Lai, a Ph.D candidate in the department of agricultural and resource economics, was pacing back and forth in the ballroom, singing softly to herself in preparation for her performance. It was her second year to participate in China Night.

“It’s holiday time in China, so we want to celebrate,” she said. “And we want to show a bit of China’s culture.”

There is so much to share, she said, that it’s important that China Night be an annual event, so that each year, another bit of Chinese culture can be shared with the community.