The Korean Club at Weber State University gathered on Jan. 16 for a special card-decorating event to kick off the Lunar New Year.

Students were given colorful paper and markers to create personalized Lunar New Year cards. Korean snacks and candies were also offered for the students to enjoy as they decorated.

The Lunar New Year is celebrated in several Asian countries, including China, Vietnam, Taiwan and Korea. Each country celebrates the Lunar New Year in similar and different ways.

The Korean Lunar New Year, also known as Seollal, was celebrated on Jan. 29 this year. It is celebrated on the second new moon after the winter solstice to commemorate the first day of the lunisolar calendar.

Typically in Korean culture, the Lunar New Year is celebrated through family gatherings and rituals. Traditional food is also served during this celebration.

“In Korea, we usually eat tteokguk. It’s like Korean traditional food. So we cook tteokguk, and we eat tteokguk with many people, like family and friends,” Minju Kim, an international student from Korea, said.

Tteokguk is a beef broth soup with sliced rice cakes, traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day as a way of granting good luck.

This year, the Lunar New Year celebrates the snake zodiac. The snake is the sixth zodiac out of 12 animal zodiacs in the lunisolar calendar. Students drew snakes on their cards and wrote “Receive a lot of luck in the New Year” in Korean writing.

Weber State’s Korean Club hosts many events like this throughout the semester to encourage students to learn more about Korean culture and traditions.

The Korean club has been around since the fall of 2022 when it was created to bring students who like K-pop, Korean food and culture together.

“I wanted a place where people could just talk about their favorite things about Korea, and here we are,” Abigail Homer, Korean Club president, said.

The club plans on hosting a few more gatherings and events throughout the spring semester.