Chinese New Year festivities came alive recently at the CQU Sydney International Undergraduate Campus with a Chinese Lion Dance performance celebrating the arrival of the Year of the Pig.

In addition to the sound and visual spectacular, staff and students received gifts and treats including sweets and fortune cookies which were available throughout the campus.

The Chinese New Year is one of the most popular celebrations in the Chinese calendar. In Chinese culture, the pig is associated with fertility and virility. Those who bear children in the year of the pig are deemed fortunate.

People born in the year of the Pig are marked by their warmth and are known as very hospitable people who have a tendency to be clean and focussed on comfort. The Pig is considered one of the most industrious of the Chinese Zodiac signs.

There are many traditions and customs associated with celebrating the Chinese New Year.

Greeting people with “Kung Hei Fat Choy” (Happy New Year) in Cantonese or “Kong Xi Fa Chai” in Mandarin during the New Year period is associated with bringing good fortune and prosperity.

Cleaning your house is looked upon as sweeping out the bad luck. Casting aside old grudges is deemed to earn reconciliation and forgiveness. It is seen to ward off bad luck by draping your door with red cloth and leaving lights on throughout the Chinese New Year’s Eve. It is a tradition to give red 'lucky money' envelopes to pass on prosperity and good luck.

At the Sydney International Undergraduate Campus it was fitting that 'lucky money' envelopes were given out to students as it also coincided with the exam period which brought a smile to many students’ faces.

Many thanks to the Australian Jow Ga Kung Fu Academy for the traditional Chinese Lion Dance.

Photo above: Chinese Lion Dancers courtesy of the Australian Jow Ga Kung Fu Academy, Associate Director Academic Dr Stephen Howlett, Chinese Lion Dancers, student Panchaporn Bukatam and Associate Director Finance & Administration Hana Krskova.