The Lantern Festival is a Chinese holiday that culminates the new year celebration. At Allegheny College, the Association for Asian and Asian American Awareness, also known as A5, held the celebration in the Henderson Campus Center lobby on Wednesday, Feb. 12.

The Chinese New Year was on Saturday, Jan. 25, ringing in the Year of the Rat. The Lunar New Year involves offerings, prayers and ceremonies, as well as the celebration of the beginning of a new year. The Lantern Festival, a time of reunion and socialization, marks the end of the festival.

“(The) Lantern Festival is a celebration for the end of (the) Chinese New Year,” said Miharu Koh, ’20. “It’s usually (the) 15th day of the Chinese calendar from the new year.”

Koh serves as the president of the Association for Asian and Asian American Awareness.

The event featured lantern making as well as sparklers and a photo booth. Several members of A5 donned traditional Chinese garbs as well.

“(The) Lantern Festival is celebrated 15 days after the Chinese New Year,” said Suzaine Pador, ’22. “There’s different (signifiers) of (the festival) from the colors, the decorations, the lanterns, the candles — so right now we have a photo booth full of cherry blossoms and lanterns and candies in red bags.”

Despite the cancellation of the Lunar New Year celebration, which was supposed to happen on Jan. 24 in the same location as the Lantern Festival, the club plans on hosting several more events to promote awareness of their cultures.

“We are planning to have Bubble Tea nights again like last semester and we are planning to have shaved ice events in April,” Koh said.