The U of A's American Pacific Islanders employee impact group has released a video to wish everyone a Happy Lunar New Year.  

The Asian Pacific Americans is an employee impact group dedicated to making the University of Arkansas the best place for Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to fulfill their career aspirations while maintaining their cultural identity. This resource group supports the university's API employees to accomplish the mission of teaching, research, and service through strengthening diversity, fostering community and improving retention of students, faculty, and staff. API aims to develop inclusive leaders to educate, engage, and support the university and strategic initiatives of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.  

Lunar New Year gets its name because it marks the first new moon of the lunisolar calendars; a solar year — the time it takes Earth to orbit the sun — lasts around 365 days, while a lunar year, or 12 full cycles of the Moon, is roughly 354 days. An extra month is added periodically to stay close to the solar year. This is why the new year falls on a different day within that month-long window each year.

Lunar New Year is often celebrated as a 15-day celebration kicking off on New Year's Eve with a family feast and is a time to reflect on new beginnings, family, fortune, happiness and health. This is why many traditional happy new year messages will include themes of fortune and health beyond acknowledging a new year.  

A dumpling cooking video will also be released soon in addition to the personal new year messages from members of the American Pacific Islanders community.