COLUMBIA, S.C. — It’s officially the Year of the Dragon, and South Carolina Midlands residents celebrated the start of the Lunar New Year at Richland Library Northeast.
“It's basically New Year, but in Asia, they go by the lunar calendar, so the day kind of changes from year to year, but it's basically their version of Christmas,” customer service supervisor Jenny Lao said. “It’s one of the biggest holidays. Everyone gets together. They get - they wear new clothes. They like just try to start the new year off right and then like kind of appreciate hanging out with like friends and family.”
Lao planned the event, where families gathered at the Northeast Branch for an afternoon of festivities, including crafts, games, and a lion dance from Thundering Wave Martial Arts.
The group drove from Charlotte to perform for attendees like 16-year-old Navi Tafoya.
“I came to see the dance, and that was really cool,” Tafoya said. “I think it's, like, really cool how much detail was put into, like, the decoration of the head and even the body. And then just the coordination between the dancers was really amazing. They had to probably practice that a lot to get that to be as good as it was.”
Having people like Tafoya participate in the celebration was significant, Lao said.
“I actually grew up in this community, and I didn't really see myself reflected in a lot of events. So, I'm really excited that now that I work for Richland Library and, like, I can put on like these events that everyone can feel seen and also learn about other cultures," Lao said. "Just so, you know, we are a part of the community as well. I think it's really amazing for the community to turn out, especially for this holiday that some of them might not have ever heard of. So, it just shows that people are willing to learn something new, experience new things if you just give them a chance.”
“I think that's cool to see, like, different cultures because, like, I knew a little bit about like the Chinese New Year from, like, books I've read and - but I've never, like, actually, like, experienced, like, any of the dances or, like, any of the things they do,” Tafoya said. “So I thought it was cool to, like, come here and be able to see, like, what it was actually, like, all about, not just, like, what bits and pieces I knew from what I've read.”