On Jan. 31st, Rams with Chinese heritage celebrated the Spring festival, more commonly known as the Chinese New Year in frigid temperatures.

Lin Zhou, senior accounting major said that she would have a feast with her family every year to welcome the New Year.

“After dinner we watched TV shows together. Adults would play Mahjong,” Zhou said.

This year, however, she celebrated it with her neighbors, roommates and friends.

“It’s very important to go back home for Chinese New Year” said Saydee Xu, a communications major alum. Xu said she always made it home to Denver to see her family on the Eve.

“My family’s tradition (is) to do dinner with family on the Eve. We usually have at least 10 different dishes,” Xu said.

Food isn’t just randomly prepared and each if the dishes hold significance, according to Xu.

Because each food holds special significance, many superstitious families will not throw away any of their food. It is expected that all the leftover food is eaten for days that follow Chinese New Year to keep unity, longevity, prosperity and luck within the house for the rest of the year, Xu said.

There is also the famous tradition of red envelopes. Adults in the family give the younger folks little red envelopes filled with money as a sign of good luck. Some families will have shrines where they will pray to remember their ancestors.

“There is a historical and cultural significance to it, but ultimately, it’s all about being reunited with your family,” Xu said, recalling her time at CSU.

She said she feels like CSU did very little to promote Chinese New Year while she was a student here.

“When I was at CSU, it was a culture that not a lot of people knew about,” said Xu.

She said she hopes that in the upcoming years the Ram community will try harder to promote CSU New Years and create a more homely environment for those students who are far away from their families.

Collegian Reporter Simrik Neupane can be reached at news@collegian.com.