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27/01/2023 - 10:00 :
Trinity Western University's Lunar New Year celebrations bring students, staff, and the community together at Langley and Richmond campuses
As a global Christian university, Trinity Western is a community of learners representing over 80 countries. This year, during Lunar New Year, a festival celebrated by many communities globally, Trinity Western's Langley and Richmond campuses are filled with activities.
On January 23, TWU's Intercultural Student Programs (ICP) kicked off a week-long series of events for students and the campus community, starting with a Korean Dinner hosted in the Global Lounge (Kuhn Centre) on Monday evening. Students shared laughs and good food while participating in dumpling wrapping and lantern making.
Wema Kibe is a student leader who helped coordinate Monday's community dinner. The third-year International Studies major explained that "Community dinners are a great place for people to not just learn about a culture but to also make new connections. Ushering in the new year with people from diverse places was a great way to do this."
The first activity of the evening was making dumplings, and Wema reflected on the intercultural exchange, "It was fun to see people at different tables creating different shapes. I talked to someone from Japan who made a dumpling the way they do it in her culture, and it was interesting to see that integration."
Student leader Anasthasia Anjanette led participants in making paper lanterns. The activity symbolized "letting go of our past selves" and getting ready for the new year. Wema explains, "Inside the lanterns, they wrote down their wishes for the new year." Prizes were given out to the maker of the best-looking lanterns.
The campus Korean club, Manna, took charge of the cooking and cultural explanations of the food.
On Tuesday, a lion dance troupe graced the foyer of the Reimer Student Centre. Boisterous music and drum beats accompanied the traditional dance performance, which was enjoyed by students, staff, and faculty. Wednesday evening saw student dorms racing through a series of stations across the Langley campus—each station presenting a different game or challenge—in a cross-campus dorm night.
Thursday brought celebrations to TWU Richmond's two sites in Minoru and Lansdowne. Activities included calligraphy writing, trivia games, pastoral care and prayer, and a student dance performance. Dumplings and snacks were served, and red envelopes with a treat and a note of Scriptural encouragement handed out. The MLA for Richmond Centre Teresa Wat attended as well, to share new year greetings with the Richmond campus community.
MBA student Merghani Ahmed expressed that he enjoys studying at TWU Richmond, where the community represents "a diversity of different faiths and nationalities." He also appreciates "the flexibility of classes, and good events, such as today's Lunar New Year event, which are good experiences for students from international backgrounds."
The festivities continued that evening in the Reimer Student Centre, where bubble tea was served by TWU's Student Association (TWUSA), and various booths offered games, conversation, gifts, and snacks.
A week of Lunar New Year events wraps up this Friday evening with a talent show at Block Hall.
30/01/2023 - 09:00
Black History Month 2023 at Trinity Western University
Trinity Western University honours Black History Month this February. Join us as we recognize the importance, impact, and contributions of Black history and culture on a global, national, and local scale.
Find out how TWU is celebrating Black History Month, and how you can participate.
See our month-long schedule of events below:
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Library Event and Book Display – Presentation by Aklilu Mulat, Senior Vice President, Business Operations & CFO, Trinity Western University
February 1 | 11:45 a.m. | Glass Room, Norma Marion Alloway Library
Topic: Blacks' Contribution to the TWU Family: The Ethiopian Connection
Mr. Aklilu Mulat's speech is inspired by his own journey and connection leading to Trinity Western, going as far back to the former emperor of Ethiopia (Haile Selassie), and the visible legacy that the connection created. Lunch provided.
TWU Afro-Caribbean Club (ACC) Games Night
February 2 | 8 p.m. | Global Lounge, Kuhn Centre
Join us in bringing TWU together, especially the student community, for a fun night of games, conversation, and friendship-building. Snacks will be shared.
TWU Chapel
February 3 | 11 a.m. | Enarson Gymnasium
Enjoy a special Praise Chapel worship experience with the TWU BHM Choir.
Black History Month Opening Event
February 3 | 5 p.m. | Kuhn Centre Lobby
Our Black History Month kick-off celebration features music by TWU's BHM Choir and the Kara-Kata Afrobeat Band from Vancouver, alongside talented TWU students Ose Obetoh, David Mutabazi, Eddison Bryan and Tamilore Awonusi.
Warm appetizers and Afro-Caribbean beverages provided.
TWU Chapel
February 8, 10 | 11 a.m. | Enarson Gymnasium
TWU President Mark Husbands continues the Chapel sermon series on Justice.
Black History Month Movie Night
February 15 | 6 p.m. | DeVries Auditorium
Movie: Hidden Figures
See the story of three African-American female mathematicians working at NASA—Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson—whose efforts served to launch astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a monumental accomplishment in U.S. and world history.
February 19
Black History Month Podcast Interview
Learning Matters: a Bridge to Practice – Episode #50
What do you get when a Communication Scholar, Historian, Geographer, and a Biologist walk into a room during Black History Month?
On the podcast Learning Matters: a Bridge to Practice, hosted by TWU's Scott Macklin, professors and scholars Divine Agodzo, Robynne Healey, Maxwell Ofosuhene and Laura Onyango discuss and celebrate intersections of black contributors to history and issues of diversity, inclusion and reconciliation across the full spectrum of our educational offerings and scholarship. Answering questions such as, What do you believe are some of the unique challenges facing Black students in Christian universities today, and how do you work to support and empower them? In your opinion, what can be done to address systemic racism and discrimination within Christian universities and communities? What are some books or movies that you consider helpful in exploring or learning about black history?
Black History Month Closing Celebration
February 27 | Front of Reimer Centre
Talk by Hon. Justice Olufunlola Adekeye, CON, CFR,JSC (rtd.) Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria 2009-2012
February 28 | DeVries Auditorium
Topic: The Place of Black Women in Leadership in the 21st Century—Experience as a Trailblazer
Hon. Justice Adekeye will share her Lordship’s experience as a Christian woman who helped to break the glass ceiling in the Judiciary of Nigeria. She was the first woman to rise to the High Court of Ondo and Ekiti States, and the second woman (and first in Southern Nigeria) to rise to the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which is the highest court in the country.
Throughout the month of February: A display of books written by Black authors will be featured at the Norma Marion Alloway Library.
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Gender Cafe: EDID, Politics, and Christian Institutions
Christian organizations should be in the forefront of creating and advancing equitable, diverse, inclusive, and decolonized environments. It is a part of our DNA. So, why are we not leading in this endeavour? The problem is that we follow the political and cultural trends instead of forging faith-led approaches to achieving a just and humane society. How are Christians called to lead the work of shaping the Beloved Community?
Dr. Adkins’ talk will be followed by discussion and a question-and-answer period.
It's FREE and open to the public and refreshments are provided.
About the Speaker
Jennifer Adkins, PhD, is Vice President of Inclusive Excellence at TWU. An expert in diversity, equity, and inclusion, she is a key member of the executive leadership team, the University leadership council, and the strategic planning committee, and she provides strategic leadership and counsel to the University. She is advancing TWU’s work in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and helping to propel the University forward in pursuit of our shared vision to prepare graduates for faithful lives of excellence.
About the Gender Studies Institute at TWU
The Gender Studies Institute fosters interdisciplinary teaching, intellectual dialogue, research, and collaboration in all areas of gender studies. The interdisciplinary nature of the institute will enable TWU scholars to collaboratively address with students gender issues that come out of every discipline, such as domestic violence, child abuse, and gendered visions of care, exploring how categories such as class, race, and gender intersect, to train leaders who will enjoy and foster restorative gendered relationships. The role of our Christian faith in the working out of gender in all aspects of life will inform our teaching and research.
Lunar New Year has considerable worldly superstition and pagan content; from the article The Lunar New Year: Rituals and Legends at the site Asia for Educators (bold, links in original):
Preparations for the New YearAll of the events mentioned above appeal to only certain segments of the population rather than the whole. Lunar New Year is of interest mainly to Orientals; Black History Month helps to perpetuate the separation of Negro history from general history; and "equitable, diverse, inclusive, and decolonized" is Orwellian Newspeak for "eradicate everything coming from white people, especially white males." I defy anyone to find anything distinctively Christian in these events--or in allegedly Christian institutions of higher education.
... Domestically there is a traditional cleansing as well. In decades past, the most thorough “spring cleaning” of the year was initiated as a ritualistic sweeping away of all the evil spirits feared to be lurking in dark corners behind heavy and rarely moved pieces of furniture. Today, the only consideration for the vast majority of Chinese is a spotless presentation of one’s home to the many family members and guests who will be welcomed during the holiday season. Windows are washed, or were repapered in the old days, and the courtyard gate or other wooden parts of the house might be repainted. The old agrarian calendar cites the 20th day of the 12th lunar month as the “day for sweeping floors,” and this date still marks the beginning of the major pre-holiday housecleaning projects in Hong Kong. In much of China, peasants waited until the 23rd (in South China) or the 24th (in the North) to pick up the broom and dust pan. It was on this day that the Kitchen God, or god of the hearth, was scheduled to depart to make his report concerning household activities to the Jade Emperor in heaven. So as not to unnecessarily disturb and possibly offend him, housewives waited until he was on his way before they started moving furniture and raising dust.
Sending the Kitchen God off to heaven was a matter deserving special attention. In residence year-round at the hearth, where he was represented by a prominently displayed picture, or in parts of the South by beautifully calligraphed characters for his name, the Kitchen God observed all the family’s comings and goings. Had they been generous to any beggar at the door? Had they wasted any hard-earned food, which some farmer had toiled and sweated to produce? Measures were taken to insure the kitchen god’s cooperation in giving a glowing report to the Jade Emperor, and thereby winning for the family a little heavenly favor. This included ritual offerings of candies or pastries and wine, and even smearing his lips with honey to make certain that he would only have sweet things to say about the family. Once this was done, the picture of the Kitchen God was torched, and he was off on his yearly journey, not to return until New Year’s Day. The dusting, washing, and scrubbing could then begin. Many believed they should sweep with inward strokes toward the center of the room so as not to whisk any of the family’s good fortune out the door...
...New Year’s Eve
By New Year’s Eve, family members, some of whom may have traveled long distances to return home, gather for a reunion. In preparation for his return from heaven on New Year’s Day, the new portrait of the Kitchen God is hung, as are the brand new door gods, the duilian (door couplets), and any other festive decor. Some southern families place stalks of sugar cane behind the doors. The height and section-upon-section construction of the sweet stalks represented the family’s hope for a ladder-like ascent to new levels of glory in the coming 12 months. Everyone dresses up, preferably in new clothes, and is on best behavior.
Traditionally, on this last night of the year, the male head of the household led the family in making offerings to various gods of the house and to the ancestors. The ceremonies would begin by sealing the cracks around the door with red paper to prevent the last vestiges of the old year’s bad luck from stealing into the house, and any of the family’s good luck from escaping. Respects would be paid to the god of wealth, the gods of the well, the bed, the hearth, or any others with whom the family wanted to remain on especially good terms. The attention would then turn to the ancestors, to whom sacrifices of food would be given along with burning of incense. Each member of the family would kneel in respect before the ancestral tablets, symbols of many past generations, all the spirits of whom some families believed were in attendance that night. In wealthier households, an entire room might be devoted to use as an ancestral hall, complete with altar, while in poorer families, the ancestral tablets might occupy a modest shed in a corner. Just as important was to show respect to one’s living elders. Younger family members would ketou (kowtow) to members of each generation above them, in order, beginning with the eldest. When children showed respect in this way, they were rewarded with red envelopes (hongbao), which contained New Year’s money (yasui qian)...
...New Year Festivities
...It was at this time that the male head of the house in many educated households would write auspicious characters or phrases to be hung at the entrance to the home. Some also waited for this day to approach the ancestral altar for seasonal rites, and to perform ritual ketou...
...In the days after the new year, it is common to make pilgrimages to temples, especially nowadays for residents of Hong Kong. Theater groups and acrobatic troupes perform in the streets at marketplaces, on temple grounds, or at large public stadiums. Dragon dances, lion dances, stilt-walking performances, and folk pageantry are still particularly popular...
...The Lantern Festival
The 15th day of the first lunar month is known as the “Lantern Festival.” The name for this day on the traditional calendar is Yuanshao, which has come to mean the small round dumplings of rice flour conventionally eaten at this time. The Lantern Festival signals the end of the New Year festival period.
Originally, lanterns were said to have been used on this night to help see the gods by torch light. Each family would construct an elaborate paper lantern for this purpose. Now in many parts of China there is great emphasis on the craftsmanship used in making exquisite lanterns in a variety of shapes and styles, which are then often shown at public exhibitions.
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