JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri’s Governor and First Lady are set to play host to a Lunar New Year Celebration at the state Capitol next week.
On Monday night, Gov. Mike and First Lady Teresa Parson are planning to welcome children and community leaders to hang a Duì lián, one of the most common Chinese decorations hung on front doors during the Lunar New Year celebration.
The Couplet will be hung at the ceremonial door of the Missouri Governor’s Office, initiating the Year of the Pig. The new year begins on February 5, 2019.
The lunar calendar has a 12-year cycle with a different animal each year. The different animals are rat, ox/buffalo, tiger, rabbit or cat (depending on whether it’s the Chinese or Vietnamese zodiac), dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
This will be the second Lunar New Year celebration at the Missouri State Capitol. The Parsons are set to be joined by Department of Labor & Industrial Relations Director Anna Hui, St. Louis Chinese Language School, and Columbia Chinese School. The event will take place at 5:15 p.m. on Monday, February 4, 2019, at the Governor’s Office in the Capitol.
Alisha Shurr was a reporter for The Missouri Times and The Missouri Times Magazine. She joined The Missouri Times in January 2018 after working as a copy editor for her hometown newspaper in Southern Oregon. Alisha is a graduate of Kansas State University.
