BelSU students learnt about the traditions of celebrating New Year in China

The event “Amazing China: Interweaving of Cultures” was organised by BelSU Peoples' Friendship Centre and the Department of Foreign Language Literature of Belgorod State Universal Scientific Library (BSUSL). The meeting participants were told about the culture and customs of the ancient Chinese holiday. The young people learned that in 2024, according to the lunar calendar, New Year would fall on 10^th February, and Spring Festival would last for 15 days.

The lecture-presentation by Ivan Govorishchev, a specialist of BSUSL Department of Foreign Language Literature, was dedicated to traditional decoration of houses and streets, presents given by the Celestial people to their relatives and friends, mythological origins of the holiday, literary works describing celebration of Spring Festival and many other facts.

During the tour around the Chinese books exhibition, Zhanna Kukhtina, the Head of the Department of Foreign Languages Literature, told about the origin of Chinese language textbooks in Russia, the most famous Chinese language translators of classical Russian literature, new books in Chinese language exhibited in the central library of Belgorod region.

Many students from the Institute of Intercultural Communication and International Relations came to meet their friends from different countries, studying together not only Chinese, but also Spanish, English, German.

While concluding the meeting Olga Lyutova, the Head of BelSU Peoples' Friendship Centre, noted that the more information channels for students to learn about different countries and cultures, the more effective would be the work in this direction.

The activists of Peoples' Friendship Centre prepared symbolic gifts for “Polyglot” club – a handmade painted fan, chopsticks and a feng shui pendant with a mystical knot. As Arina Shestakova, an administrator of Peoples' Friendship Centre explained, the intertwining of eights symbolised luck, love and happiness, which have no beginning and no end.

Let us remind you that 2024 and 2025 have been announced Years of Culture of Russia and China by the President of the Russian Federation, and BelSU announced 2024 Partnership Year.