Members of the Son Long lion dance group danced in and around the crowd to drum music. | Jach Chaiyakhom/The Daily Cougar
This marks the second year that students walking through the University Center Arbor may have been set upon by lions.
The Council of Ethnic Organizations held a celebration of the Lunar New Year, a Chinese holiday, Monday.
“(Lunar New Year) is an opportunity to showcase the vibrancy of the culture,” said Sieda Omar, an economics senior and Council director.
Along with free dumplings and milk tea, the event featured the Son Long lion dance group.
The dancers are carrying on a tradition that is “thousands of years old” and were taught at Linh Son Temple, Southwest, said Long Le, a business junior.
The performers, dressed as colorful lions, danced to a heavy drum-and-cymbal rhythm and were given fruits and vegetables to “scare away bad spirits,” Le said.
One of the great things about the UC Arbor, Omar said, is the fact that students who walk by will often be enticed to stay and watch.
“It was a really great and fantastic event,” said language senior Huáng Long Lê.
The event was originally going to be held on Wednesday, the date of the holiday, but was postponed because of the rain, Omar said.
