The Association of Chinese Students and Scholars came together Saturday evening in the Ferguson Center Ballroom to ring in the Year of the Horse with singing, dancing, food and games.

About 400 students, faculty and community members attended the Chinese Spring Festival Ceremony, which celebrated the Chinese New Year in conjunction with the start of spring.

“It was a lot of fun,” Christopher Weaver, a recent UA graduate, said. “The culture is what I really like about the Chinese New Year. You learn more and more about it every year, and it’s good to be around different cultures and learn from them.”

According to the Chinese calendar, 2014 is the Year of the Horse, which signifies an active and fast-paced year, Liu Liu, ACSS vice president, said. Attendees gathered near the stage to enjoy traditional Chinese food and live performances, which included hip-hop music, a rock band and a tai chi demonstration.

“We invited a lot of students from other countries, so celebrating together was like an honor for us,” Xiaozhou Wang, ACSS member, said. “That we could share our own culture was a big thing, and we could also learn about other cultures.”

Jon Lewis, a kung fu instructor who was recently inducted into the martial arts Masters Hall of Fame, also performed at the festival. Lewis and his students educated the audience on some of the basic points of Shen Lung, a lesser-known sect of kung fu that emphasizes conflict resolution over violence.

“It is a peaceful art,” Dakota Engel, a Shen Lung performer, said. “Self-defense is a byproduct of what we learn.”

Participants were also invited to the stage to share their New Year’s wishes with the audience. In return, they were given cash in red envelopes, another Chinese New Year custom.

“In the traditional Chinese New Year, the older generation will bring money, and they will put it in red [envelopes] and give them to children,” Liu said. “The reason for that is good luck.”

Luoheng Han, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said participation was much higher than he expected, given last week’s class cancellations.

“We were afraid we would not sell many tickets, because of those two-and-a-half days the University closed,” Han said. “But it was wonderful. Very close to 400 people showed up. If you consider the ice storm, that is absolutely fantastic.”

The Chinese New Year is much like Christmas, Han said. Celebrating the holiday with family is very important in Chinese culture. That was not an option for Chinese students who are far from home, which made the event particularly significant, Han said.

“Students walked in and smelled Chinese food, and they saw the decorations,” Han said. “They could enjoy the feeling of home.”

Wang said the event was exciting for international students. “We left our country, and everything is new here, but we could celebrate the Spring Festival together. It was like a whole big family, like we shared the same blood.”

Liu said the festival also promoted diversity and built a bridge between Chinese students and the community.

“This was a perfect venue to share different cultures. I really think as UA grows, the international students will also grow. This was a perfect opportunity to show cultural diversity, which represents our university very well.”