It is time to say “xin nian kuai le” or “kung hei fat choi” as today begins the Year of the Ox.

The Chinese calendar marks today as the 4707th year, and all over the world the Chinese celebrate their biggest holiday of the year for 15 days until the next full moon.

In China, people parade in the streets with firecrackers and the color red symbolizing luck and good fortune. They are also given the week off from work and school.

Those at NIU may not celebrate with the festive displays seen in China, but they like to focus on aspects of the holiday such as the reuniting of friends and family, and large feasts.

“The most important part and meaning of Chinese New Year for me is family reunion like Thanksgiving for America,” said economics graduate student Yarong Yang.

Since the Chinese in America are not given the week off, many celebrated the New Year this past weekend.

Network of Nations hosted the NIU Chinese Student and Scholar Association (CSSA) at the First Baptist Church on Saturday in Sycamore and saw a turnout of 17 students. Together, they spent hours preparing a feast of authentic Chinese dishes in the church’s kitchen.

“We usually get together and cook some food, dine together and talk with each other,” said Chun Jun Wang, a junior finance major and president of CSSA. “The important thing is to feel that we are family and we are at home.”

Also on Saturday in Naperville, about 25 NIU students attended another celebration at the Church in Naperville, a small non-denominational Christian church where local Naperville residents also attended.

“In the church, we use this time to gather all the international students because most of them don’t have families here so we want to give them a family atmosphere so they can feel warm and welcome,” said church minister Joseph Chin.

On Sunday afternoon, a weekly Chinese language course taught to children in Wirtz Hall celebrated the Chinese New Year as part of their class activities, complete with traditional clothing, decorations, food and the giving out of red envelopes (called “hong bao”) enclosed with money.

Christine Wong, whose daughter attends the class, helped set up the celebration.

“We have enough children in the DeKalb area so we want our children to learn the Chinese language and culture and that’s why we hold this Chinese New Year celebration for them,” Wong said.

Among all the celebrations, a common staple of food was the dumpling, which is a popular food during the Chinese New Year, especially in the northern region of China.

And while one-sixth of the world’s population will have the week off, it will be back to class for the NIU students who celebrated over the weekend.