On December 15, 2019, the 2nd Celebration for Winter Solstice kicked off at the North Building of Building 10, Xinya College. In the early morning, students were busy decorating the hall on the ground floor with strings of red lanterns which created a festive atmosphere all overthe Xinya Building.

Temple Fair

It's depicted in ancient Chinese verse that the rich put their embroidered curtains up to receive their family members and all were having fun on the day of Winter Solstice. At 9:00 in the morning, the Temple Fair started and marked the commencement of the first part of Xinya's celebration for Winter Solstice. In order to perform well in the Temple Fair and attract more students to participate in the activity, Xinya students from four grades, Xinya Student Union, international exchanges association, poem association, calligraphy association, and other associations set up 17 different stalls, competing with each other and playing their trump cards to attract more participants, with activities including interesting games, delicious foods, and DIY.

There were sounds of music, laughter, competition, eating, and plenty more. On one side was the noisy stall of wine tasting and quiz organized by international exchanges association, while on the other side was the quiet stall of embroidery, paper carving, and wind chimes making. Notably, following Dean Gan's suggestions, a special stall was also set up for participants to do nothing but sit there staring blankly, which unexpectedly drew a lot of attention from students.

Different activities that were lively or quiet, focused on music or food, and were exciting or relaxing were held in Xinya Building, creating a unique sense of harmony. All participants kept their passion throughout the entire event which lasted until 1:00 p.m.

Academic Sci-Tech Innovation Annual Symposium

In the afternoon, the 1st Xinya College Academic Sci-Tech Innovation Annual Symposium hosted by the Science and Technology Association of Xinya College and co-organized by the societies of Xinya College was held.Some students enrolled in 2016 and 2017 from different majors were invited as speakers to make a report, sharing and communicating with teachers and other students about their feelings and experiences during study.

Dumplings

What followed was the Dumpling Feast hosted by Xinya Student Union. Some students were good at making dumplings, and some were completely green hands who attempted to roll the dough into wrappers. College teachers also participated in the activity, some of whom were surprisingly skilled at making dumplings. For example, Prof. Gan was telling his stories and sharing his experience when making a dumpling, Prof. Zhao Xiaoli spoke little and was busy making dumplings, and Prof. Jiang Kaili was also very skilled at making dumplings. After dividing themselves into several groups, the students successfully made some dumplings. Though not many, the dumplings they made had different shapes. Xinya Student Union had prepared and bought some dumplings in advance before participants made their dumplings. After having a taste of different dumplings, Prof. Gan gave thumbs-up to all participants for their great job and said, "The dumplings we made are more delicious than those we bought!"

Winter Solstice Evening Party

After the Dumpling Feast, the lively Winter Solstice Evening Party started. Students and teachers gathered together and enjoyed themselves in such a sweet and joyful night.

At the party, members from Xinya Orchestra and other students gave their creative performances. In addition, there were also new and funny games and glutinous rice balls tasting, making the activity full of highlights. In the cross-talk performanceBa Da Ji Xiang(Eight Good Omens), Gao Jinghan mentioned that "modern society was caught in atomization," which reminded students of their attendance to general education classes. All counselors danced to the song ofYe Lang Disco(Wild Wolf Disco) together, exciting and engaging all the audience. Moreover, the families of students also sent their greetings in a video, which was not only moving but also hilarious.

At the beginning of the Evening Party, Prof. Gan delivered a speech. He hopes that the students could strike a balance between "studying" and "experiencing", and participate in more practices outside the campus. Meanwhile, he expects that the Celebration for Winter Solstice can come as a welcome relief for students who lead a busy university life and create a space where students can enjoy some relaxing, sweet, and unforgettable moments.

So far, Xinya College has held two versions of the Celebration for Winter Solstice. Just as Prof. Gan said in the 1980s, "we are creating our traditions." Or as student Wang Shuyi, head of Xinya Student Union, said, "we are starting a beautiful story." On a fixed day every year, we sing, dance, and play with many other people in the community, which may be the real meaning of the activity. When it comes to the Celebration for Winter Solstice, we may think of delights or regrets. But most importantly, it gathers all the members of the community of Xinya College together on the day. It's worth mentioning that Xinyastudents completed all the work on their own, from all the parts of the activity, as well as preliminary publicity and external liaison. Thanks to the efforts of those who contributed, we can have all the touching and unforgettable memories of the day.

As we returned to the North Wing of Building 10 after the Evening Party, it started to snow heavily in Beijing. When bitter winter comes, spring would not be far behind.

Text by: Wen Jin, Zhang Jingfang