With games and a tea ceremony, students and teachers met the Chinese New Year

For another year at the Southwestern University "Neofit Rilski" was held a celebration on the occasion of the Chinese New Year, which officially begins on February 16th.

Dozens of students, lecturers and guests gathered in the Confucius classroom to touch the magic of the Spring Day (Chun Jie) - the Chinese New Year.

The celebration ceremony was led by Tai Ley, a Chinese language teacher at the Southwest University. She surprised guests with interesting games and gifts from China. The attendees demonstrated knowledge and skills related to Chinese culture and calligraphy, and the best ones left with prizes. The one-hour program was attended by students and teachers studying Chinese. With songs and poems, they demonstrated what they have learned so far. Guests also have the opportunity to taste traditional Chinese tea.

Among the attendees was the Dean of the Faculty of Philology, Prof. Dr. Magdalena Panayotova. She greeted the guests and briefly told them the legend of the holiday.

"The legend tells us that at the time Buddha invited all the animals, but the celebration came only 12 and Buddha baptized one year for each of the animals that won him.This year is the Earth Dog year, it is connected with a sense of coziness and loyalty" , said Prof. Panayotova. She noted that the purpose of these events was to teach Chinese in a fun and pleasant way.

The event is part of a series of Chinese initiatives organized by the Philological Faculty. Chinese cultural events continue in March. New Chinese books, paintings, demonstrations of Chinese martial arts and Chinese cuisine are forthcoming. Due to the great interest in Chinese language, the Southwestern University has also launched a new bachelor's program - Pedagogy of Bulgarian and Chinese Language Teaching.