On February 8, 2025, the Confucius Institute of Irkutsk State University held ‘China Happy Year’ activities to help Chinese language learners understand the culture of the Chinese Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival.

 

                                                                                                                                           

The teacher at the institute introduced in detail the historical origin, traditional customs and cultural significance of the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival. As the most important traditional festival in China, the Spring Festival symbolizes reunion, hope and the beginning of a new year. The festive atmosphere of the festival was passed on to every student through the lecture, enabling them to experience the significance of Chinese culture.

 

               

 

In Chinese culture, the Chinese character ‘Fu’ represents happiness and good luck. During the Spring Festival, every household will affix ‘Fu’ onto their doors, meaning good luck and great fortune throughout the whole year. The students used rubbing tools to print the Chinese character ‘Fu’ on red paper. By doing so, they could feel the joy and peace of the Spring Festival.

 

                  

 

The students also learned to make a red lantern for the Lantern Festival. They cut colored paper and pasted them together to make beautiful colored lanterns. The teacher wrote her good wishes to the students on them, wishing them good luck for the whole year and success in everything. By making colored lanterns, the students gained a more intuitive understanding of the customs of the Lantern Festival.

 

 

                  

The last activity was to make a Chinese zodiac seal. As China’s zodiac culture enjoys a long history, those zodiac images not only represent the cycle of time but also present rich culture. The students learned more about the significance of zodiac culture by looking for their own calligraphic imagen. Later, they stamped the appropriate seal of the zodiac to make it a special memento. The activity not only made the students feel a personalized expression of Chinese culture but also stimulated their strong interest in traditional Chinese culture.

 

                

The youngest student in the activity was Anna, a ten-year-old girl. From beginning to end, she was very happy and completed all activities. She was the first to make a small and lovely red lantern and the ‘Fu’ printing was also her favorite. She happily said to the teachers: “I love Chinese and I like the activities”.

 

 

                

‘China Happy Year’ activities not only provided the middle school students at the Confucius Institute with an opportunity to learn about Chinese traditional culture, but also further promoted cultural exchanges between Russia and China. Such exchanges transcend time and space and connect the hearts of different peoples.

 

                

The Confucius Institute at Irkutsk State University will stay committed to promoting the Chinese culture by holding more colorful activities so that more Russian students will know more about Chinese culture.