Our New Year’s celebrations may be well and truly over, but it still looms on the horizon for others.

The Lunar and Chinese New Year was celebrated today at the University of Huddersfield, where students held their annual Spring Festival to celebrate its cultural significance.

Students from China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia held events on the campus including calligraphy lessons, a tutorial in chopsticks and tying new year’s wishes on a cherry blossom tree.

The packed crowds were also treated to a performance from a Chinese dragon, which weaved its way through the hall to traditional music.

Pupils from local high schools also visited the festival.

Alan Tobi, the University’s International Student Experience Manager, said: “The Lunar New Year isn’t until February 8, so we are celebrating it today before students go home to celebrate it with their families. We have students here from 120 different nationalities.”

Chinese students make up the largest population of international students in Huddersfield, with more than 1,000.

Spring Festival at University of Huddersfield - Students Yan Li (left) and Lucy Lo (right) from China and Lucy Cao (centre) from Vietnam.

Alan added: “The point is for students to celebrate their own culture and for other students to understand what it’s all about.”

The Lunar New Year is celebrated in countries using the Lunar calendar, based on the monthly orbits of the moon around the earth rather than the Western calendar - which is based on the earth’s orbit around the sun.

This New Year will mark the year of the monkey for China.

Spring Festival at University of Huddersfield - Performance of traditional Lion Dance.

Tony Wong, head of the University’s international partnerships, said: “We always encourage the students to support their own societies and cultures, but also to spread out and be interested in others.

“University is not just about studying, but also broadening your horizons.”

The event was overseen by the University’s British Cultural Society, which encourages integration on campus.

Jamie Priestley, from the society, said: “Events like these are all about expression and escapism for our international students. It’s important that we celebrate each other’s cultures and not just our own.”