FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It’s the most wonderful time of year in Chinese culture as the celebration of Chinese New Year commences.

The holiday kicked off Wednesday and lasts until Feb. 12. The Chinese Association of NWA (CANWA) hosted an event this weekend to celebrate the holiday and invite the community to learn and enjoy.

“It’s like Christmas time for the local Chinese American community,” CANWA board member Gowa Borzigin said. “It’s not just the local Chinese community. I think more importantly, we’re sharing our traditions and cultures with our local community from other ethnic groups.”

2024 was the year of the dragon, but this new year marks the year of the snake. If you happened to be born in the year of the snake, CANWA president Cathy Luo said you have some good traits.

“People born in this next year, the year of the snake, are wise, charming, and very smart,” Luo said. “They are very sneaky, in a wise way.”

However, the most important part of this event and the new year celebration is passing the legacy of this holiday to younger generations.

“As a cultural group. It’s important that our next generation has an identity that they can identify with, and this is really, really strong to become their culture core. And as they are, of course, one part of the American culture, but then significantly, part of the Chinese American community culture as well,” CANWA board member Haiyan Fan said.

This organization serves as a place for the younger generation to come and be together. At Saturday’s ceremony, that generation performed the world-famous Dragon Dance.

“It can be hard to be an Asian American, of course, in the south. So it is good to have a place where you can show your culture and be with people who are similar to you,” event attendee Jessica Liao said.

Liao said the Dragon Dance is a “symbol of good fortune and good luck in the new year.”

Younger performers say they love being a part of something so special and unique in their culture.

Youxi Qu and her twin siter Weixi are in 6th grade and performed their first Dragon Dance this weekend.

“It’s pretty good because, I think I already love it, and I just really love the culture of Chinese,” Youxi said.

Watch 5NEWS on YouTube. 

Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone: 

Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device 

To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you’re referring to.