This year the Chinese Student Organization will host their Chinese New Year celebration Feb. 13 in the GUC Banquet Halls.

Chinese New Year occurred on Jan. 31 this year, however the Chinese Student Organization was unable to host their event due to reasons including inadequate amount of time, said CSO President Lu Sun.

“The Chinese New Year is only a couple of days after classes begin,” Sun said. “We do not have enough time to prepare. The banquet halls were already reserved by other organizations on the day of Chinese New Year.”

While the Chinese Student Organization was unable to host their gala the day of Chinese New Year, the Honors program opened their doors to international students for the holiday.

“We’re trying to broaden our focus to be more global in the way we do programming and events and emphasize a global perspective for our students in the program,” said Director of the Honors Program Vince Brewton. “I have a personal relationship with Vice Provost of International Affairs Dr. Zhang and because of that good working relationship I thought it would be a courtesy to Chinese students to host a small gathering of Chinese students and faculty as a way to say welcome. We don’t have room to make it campus-wide, but we did invite students from the international program who were from China or Taiwan.”

The Chinese New Year is not only important socially, but in China it is a staple of the culture, Sun said.

“It is the most important festival for Chinese,” Sun said. “Almost everyone could have several days off from work and go back home to celebrate with their families. It is also the beginning of the New Year, which means hope and a bright future. It is similar to Christmas for Americans.”

Delaying the celebration should not have a large impact on celebrating the event itself, Brewton said.

“Think about it this way, people host Christmas parties and parades anytime,” Brewton said. “Communities have parades in November and people have their decorations up in October. I don’t think (the timing) is important at all.”

The food and company of friends were the best parts of the event last year, said student Chad Miller.

“It does not really bother me if they do it late,” Miller said. “It’s a little strange to wait two weeks after your holiday, but I would not question it.”

While the organization was unable to prepare an event by Jan. 31, the Feb. 13 event will have as much to offer as in years past, Sun said.

“(The event) is open to the public and all the community,” she said. “In addition, we will offer free food, games, a limited amount of T-shirts, a performance and a lottery this year.”

The Chinese New Year Gala will take place Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. in the GUC Banquet Hall.