Harvard Students Celebrate Lunar New Year on Campus

Nearly 200 Harvard students and affiliates gathered in Quincy on Friday for food and festivities to ring in the Lunar New Year.

The banquet, organized by the Chinese Student Association, is an annual tradition featuring performances from the Radcliffe Pitches, the Same Squad dance group, the Harvard Wushu Club, and other student performers, followed by an afterparty in Lowell.

Alexander Z. Gong ’27, a CSA cultural co-chair, praised the event as a “good way to connect with the Chinese community,” as well as a way for him “personally to connect with my parents’ heritage.”

The evening included make-your-own pork belly bao bun appetizers and a three-course meal of traditional Chinese dishes, including fried rice, lo mein, and stir fried string beans.

CSA president Audrey Gunawan ’24 said that in the last few years, “it’s been a really tumultuous time for our community,” which made the banquet a “really, really unique opportunity for Asian cultures to be more showcased on campus.”

“It’s honestly one of my favorite traditions that we have,” CSA cultural co-chair Andrew W. Zhao ’26 said. “We’re all away from home and being able to celebrate with a family of CSA and a greater Asian community on campus is always great.”

Phoebe L. Tian ’27, a student performer at the event, sang “Wǒ ài,” which translates to “I Love.”

“Having such a performance for events here at Harvard is super important because I think it really gathers everyone together and promotes unity and cohesion in the Asian American community,” Tian said.

Gunawan also emphasized the importance of the event in gathering a wide variety of people together to celebrate.

“I think having the ability to gather undergraduate and graduate students from all over Boston and come together and celebrate this one night a year — that is very special to us and reminds ourselves that we have a home in this space,” she said.

Stephanie Chen ’27, an attendee who has lived in China where the Lunar New Year is a “super huge deal,” said she was pleased with the banquet.

“I didn’t expect there to be such a community here as well,” she said.

—Staff writer Samantha D. Wu can be reached at samantha.wu@thecrimson.com.