Sacramento State will ring in the year of the ox with traditional Chinese lion dances, painting exhibits and martial arts.

The Chinese New Year Culture Association, in partnership with the university, will celebrate the holiday this Saturday.

The festival is the largest in the greater Sacramento area and will showcase a traditional Chinese Lion Dance as well as a Chinese Zodiac Display.

“This is a one-of-a-kind event,” said organizer Ming Shyong Yang. “Most Chinese New Year celebrations just have a parade, but we have 14 diverse Chinese groups working together to make something special.”

This year the event will celebrate the traits of people born in the year of the ox which stands for hard-working and loyal. The theme is “one whole, one heart.”

Asian studies professor Richard Shek said that historically the Chinese are an agrarian society.

“The New Year’s celebration signifies the first awakening of spring and the return to warmth,” Shek said. “It marks the time to roll up our sleeves and begin working the land again.”

The Union will be filled with martial arts demonstrations, dance performances, vendor booths and children’s games from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Ballroom Dancing will take place from 7 p.m to 11 p.m.

Attendees will be able to get health care consultations from Chinese alternative medicine practitioners, and view painting and photography exhibits.

The Chinese New Year Culture Association was formed in 1997 with the primary objective of promoting Chinese culture and heritage through the celebration of Chinese New Year.

Sac State has hosted the celebrations for the last six years. General admission is $5; children 12 and under get in for $1.

This celebration is known for lots of firecrackers, banging gongs and the color red. These traditions are all associated with a ferocious beast called a Nian. Shek said the Nian would come at the beginning of the year to eat livestock and even villagers.

The loud noises are used to scare away the creature. The color red is auspicious, or a sign of future success. These practices are a function of scaring away evil elements, Shek said.

Yang said the celebrations are used as a time to bring luck to your life and start fresh.

There is one thing Shek said you can count on if you attend the celebrations: “The Chinese know how to party.”

Crystal Kirk can be reached at [email protected]