A steady beat echoed Thursday night as students performed traditional Chinese songs and the lion dance, celebrating the first Lunar New Year ceremony in the Missouri State Capitol.
Feb. 16 marks the beginning of the 2018 Lunar New Year - the year of the Dog.
Students from the St. Louis Chinese Language School and Columbia Chinese School donned colorful red and blue outfits while others moved under a lion costume as part of the dance.
They also helped Gov. Eric Greitens and first lady Sheena Greitens hang a red diamond-shaped piece of fabric on the governor's office door, with the Fu symbol upside-down. As part of Lunar New Year, several families hang the symbol upside-down on their front doors to bring good luck.
Red and black Du lin, traditional Chinese decorations that contain Chinese poetry, hung on either side and above the governor's office door. The poem reflected things special to Missouri, such as the state's bird and agriculture.
Anna Hui, department director for Missouri Department of Labor & Industrial Relations, helped organize the event. She said as an Asian-American, she looks for ways to celebrate and share her culture, whether that be inviting friends over for dinner or celebrating the Lunar New Year.
She was surprised the Capitol building never hosted a Lunar New Year celebration, adding Thursday night's ceremony was an opportunity for Asian-Americans in Missouri to feel represented and to showcase their cultural traditions.
"It's a great opportunity to recognize why it's important and to really take the time to enjoy the fact we have so many different cultures and traditions by the people of the state," said Hui, who is the first Asian-American to serve in the Missouri governor's cabinet. "No state is just homogeneous in the people and their education and their personal journeys to living in that state. Some people are born here and some people choose to make this state their home. I think those stories are all really important when telling the overall spectrum of what this state can offer."
Stephen Zhao, a junior at the St. Louis Chinese Language School, performed as one-half of the lion in the lion dance. He said they have been practicing the dance for months and was excited to perform in the Capitol.
He said the state should not only celebrate Chinese culture but also other cultures represented in Missouri.
"It's important because these (ceremonies) relate to all different kinds of cultures, not just Chinese culture," he said. "Hopefully Gov. (Greitens) spreads out to other people so that the state can be more connected and more diverse."