Red and gold filled FEAST dining hall on Feb. 17 as students celebrated Lunar New Year with traditional food, decorations and performances.
Lunar New Year is a 3000-year-old Asian tradition that celebrates the start of a new year in the lunisolar calendar, welcoming one of the 12 zodiac animals annually. 2026 welcomes the year of the Fire Horse, which only occurs every 60 years. The Fire Horse represents a year of intense energy and transformation.
The evening opened with fierce shouts as the UCLA Wushu team performed traditional martial arts. Performances like this are deeply rooted in Chinese history and carry symbolic meanings such as warding off evil and welcoming strength into the new year.
Alongside the history of Lunar New Year are the familial traditions and personal memories formed around celebrations.
Brandon Wei, a first-year psychobiology student with Taiwanese roots, shared his family’s traditions and how he appreciates them being represented at FEAST.
Every year, Wei’s family hosts a large gathering with traditional food and games. This was the first year he missed it. Seeing decorations and foods at FEAST that were similar to those when he celebrated with family was comforting for him.
“Like the mapo tofu, it was one of my favorites at home so it was nice to have here,” Wei said.
Joy Szeto, a first-year statistics and data science student, also usually celebrates the holiday at home. Szeto appreciates FEAST for hosting this event, allowing her to still be able to celebrate the cultural holiday with others, despite being away from home this year.
With cultural events, such as Lunar New Year, being major celebrations for students, it is important for UCLA to recognize them.
In addition to engaging students who usually celebrate Lunar New Year, FEAST also drew students from many outside cultures.
Arnav Pandey, a first-year computer science student, was unfamiliar with Lunar New Year and was able to learn about it through this event.
“I saw the huge queue and was curious what was happening,” Pandey said. “The cultures were new for me so I liked learning about the dances and attire.”
Learning about different cultures allows students at UCLA, a highly diverse university, to connect with one another.
This connection could be seen from the high volume and diversity of students attending FEAST’s celebration.
A large line of students waiting to enter the dining hall formed before the event started and persisted until the end, even in the rain.
Orlando Lina, an executive sous chef, attributed part of this year’s success to the addition of new home-cooked recipes selected by students in the Global Bites community.
Lina said that FEAST’s Lunar New Year celebration is held annually and students should look forward to it next year.
“I feel like it’s easy to lose touch with your culture in college … but events like this help you reconnect,” Wei said.
