GEOG Celebrates Lunar New Year with Food, Games and Festive Traditions

A group of seven smiling women poses closely together in front of a white wall decorated with a large red Lunar New Year banner that reads "Happy Year of the Horse." Most of the women are wearing red or warm-toned clothing, and the woman on the far right is making a three-fingered hand sign for innovation.

Attendees enjoy calligraphy, crafts and traditional dishes to welcome the Year of the Horse.

Students, faculty and families gathered on Feb. 20 for the GEOG Lunar New Year Celebration, hosted by the department’s Graduate Student Organization after the weekly seminar. The event welcomed spring and the new year with food, games and festive traditions.

Lunar New Year is a time for reunion and renewal, when families travel to celebrate together and set intentions for the year ahead. This year marks the Year of the Horse, a symbol of energy, strength and forward momentum. In many traditions, the horse represents perseverance, ambition and success.

A large group of approximately 50 people of diverse backgrounds poses for a photo in a brightly lit modern office or classroom setting, many making a three-fingered hand sign representing innovation. The room is decorated for Lunar New Year with red banners, a

Members of the Department of Geographical Sciences gather for the Lunar New Year, flashing the hand sign for innovation in the Year of the Horse. Credit: Tatiana Loboda

The celebration included traditional pitch-pot and chopstick games, a calligraphy station where attendees wrote their names and New Year blessings in Chinese and a DIY folding fan craft.

Guests shared homemade dishes in a potluck alongside prepared Chinese specialties, including dumplings, a Lunar New Year staple symbolizing prosperity.

 "As geographers, we spend much of our time thinking about cycles, transitions and change, which made this moment of gathering especially meaningful," said GGSO co-president Zhuoning Gu.

A four-image collage showing members of an organization participating in Lunar New Year cultural activities. Top left: Hands folding origami following printed instructions. Top right: Several women at a table assembling and decorating yellow and red folding fans. Bottom left: A group practicing Chinese calligraphy with brushes and ink on red paper. Bottom right: A group of smiling people posing with their finished red and yellow fans, with one woman holding a paper cutout of a horse.

The GEOG Lunar New Year celebration features traditional cultural activities, including origami, fan-making and calligraphy to welcome the Year of the Horse. Credit: GGSO

Main image: Participants gather in front of the Year of the Horse wish wall, sharing hopes and aspirations for the year ahead. Credit: GGSO

Published on Wed, 02/25/2026 - 09:00