While most people's New Year's festivities have ended, the Chinese culture is just starting its New Year.
The West Virginia University Health Sciences Center is hosting the annual Chinese Spring Festival or Lunar New Year Celebration in its main auditorium Saturday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The festival will include various types of authentic Chinese cuisine and crafts.
There will also be performances by members of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association. These performances are meant to be a representation of different Chinese music and traditional dances.
The Chinese New Year is a widely observed holiday both in China and around the world. The Lunar New Year is also the start of the new year of the Chinese traditional calendar.
Though the CSSA's festival is Saturday, the actual Chinese new Year is Feb. 14., known as Valentine's Day to the west.
The Chinese New Year starts on the first new moon of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. In China, the 15th day is celebrated with a Lantern Festival in which children carrying lanterns participate in a parade.
On the first day of the New Year's celebrations, the people eat traditional, vegan dishes. It is thought that not eating meat on the first day leads a long and happy life.
Each food also represents a certain fortune the Chinese wish to impose. One of the superstitions is eating lotus seeds signifies many male offspring.
There are also other superstitions associated with the Chinese New Year.
Houses are swept clean and washed before New Year's, and then there is to be no cleaning for the 15 days of New Year's for fear of the good fortune being cleaned away.
There is also the tradition of fireworks. The Chinese use fireworks as a way to send out the old year and welcome the new year.
While there likely won't be fireworks at the HSC Saturday, there will be authentic Chinese food and musical performances.
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