Lunar New Year celebration highlights community's diversity
The audience at Saturday's Lunar New Year celebration at Frederick Community College seemed to appreciate the various Asian dances and musical performances.
One child in particular was especially enthused.
After a performance of the martial art of tai chi, a voice in the darkened auditorium at the college's JBK Theater cried out, 'That was amazing.'
The celebration ushered in the Year of the Snake, one of the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac.
The snake is associated with wisdom, charm, elegance, and transformation, and people born under its sign are believed to be intelligent, insightful, and enigmatic, with keen intuition, according to notes in the event's program.
The Lunar New Year is celebrated by about two billion people around the world, in countries including China, Malaysia, Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam, said Elizabeth Chung, executive director of the Asian American Center of Frederick.
It's especially important in agriculturally based societies.
Events like Saturday's help show Asian culture to the community, she said.
Chung said it's important to show the various cultures that make up the United States' society, she said, to illustrate the different heritages that make up one country.
Bing Xiu, with the Washington Guzheng Society, said her group tries to choose pieces that help illustrate and teach elements of the 3,000 years of Chinese history when students are learning to play the ancient plucking instrument.
She tries to teach students the stories behind the pieces they're playing, she said.
The event included a variety of dance and musical performances, as well as displays of the martial arts of tai chi and wushu.
The show illustrated the level of cultural diversity in Frederick County, Elaheh Eghbal said.
'It's really neat to see how the community comes out and celebrates,' she said.
Eghbal said she was attending Saturday's event as a spectator, but is working with the Asian American Center of Frederick on a celebration of the Persian new year on March 9.
Kathy Fay of Frederick said she was glad to see how many people still know the Asian arts and perform them, especially the children.
'They're very proud of their heritage, and it shows through,' she said.
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