The International Club painted traditional Chinese lanterns for its first event of the semester Feb. 21 in the Mauck Solarium to celebrate the Lunar New Year. 

Sophomore and President of the International Club Nayeon Kim grew up celebrating the Lunar New Year in Korea. Kim said she wants to bring the traditions of her youth to Hillsdale.

“The Lunar New Year is the beginning of a new year in Asian cultures,” Kim said. “We have a lot of good food and fellowship together, and we wanted to do that at Hillsdale’s campus because there’s not many celebrations going on.” 

To celebrate the Lunar New Year — a 15-day festival marked by the first moon of the lunisolar calendar and the arrival of spring — students painted white lanterns while engrossed in traditional Japanese and Chinese instrumental music, with friends and even family. 

Sophomore Victoria Stonebraker painted lanterns with her sister, who was visiting campus. Stonebraker said she liked the immersive atmosphere. 

“The music really brings you into a different environment,” she said. “It’s hard to get out of Hillsdale sometimes, and it’s hard to remember that the rest of the world has things going on. You have to interact with, and embrace different cultures. It’s an important and beautiful thing to do.” 

Kim said she hopes the students will decorate their dorms with the lanterns they paint.

“After they’re done, they can put mini light bulbs in their lantern so that it can light up their rooms,” Kim said. 

Stonebraker said she plans to carry her lantern with her wherever she goes. 

“I have big plans for my lantern,” Stonebraker said. “Like the Flat Stanley trend in grade school when you would take him everywhere, that’s going to be my lantern. Or it’ll be my Wilson, like the volleyball from ‘Cast Away.’”

Junior and Secretary of the International Club Lauren Audrey Paschoud said even though this is only the second time the club has celebrated the Lunar New Year, it is her favorite event. 

“We have a good representation of Asians in our international club, and so it’s fun to bring that aspect of international influence into Hillsdale,” Paschoud said.

International club events are designed for the whole school to enjoy, she said.

“Some people may think that the International Club is more for people that are just international students, but it’s also a way to bring more cultural awareness and experience to the campus,” Paschoud said. 

Stonebraker said she learned a lot about the culture and plans to celebrate the Lunar New Year in the same way next year.

According to Kim, next year the club hopes to release the lanterns into the sky like in the Disney movie “Tangled.”

“If we could incorporate the technology, and if we have enough officers who know how to do that, we would definitely love to raise the lantern like in ‘Tangled,’ because I feel like that’s really beautiful,” Kim said.