Every year, hanging bright red lanterns up between the trees on Senior Grass marks the start of the school’s celebration of Lunar New Year.
Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, falls on a different date every year. The holiday’s festivities last from the lunisolar calendar’s first new moon to the first full moon fifteen days later. This year, the first day of the Year of the Snake fell on January 29, 2025.
Each year, the festival provides many international students and faculty with the opportunity to recreate traditions from their homes. Ms. Jingxia Yang, instructor in Chinese, said, “The events we planned are beyond just fun activities; they provide the feeling of a big family. For those who enjoy experiencing and learning about other cultures, sharing happiness and New Year’s luck with friends is truly special!”
On January 23, Yixi Zou ’25, Donghyun Lee ’28, and Lauren Niem ’26 gave chapel talks on their holiday traditions. “I spoke about my background as an immigrant,” said Zou. “I focused on how the Lunar New Year is an opportunity to reconnect not only with my family, but also with my faith and my culture.”
Festivities continued on January 28 with a performance organized by Zou, Anthony Hu ’25, Ophelia Cham ’25, and Symphony Shi ’26. Asian community members and students in the Chinese language program performed traditional songs, dances, skits, and raps.
Performer Victoria Fang ’25 said, “I love that I can put myself out there, both culturally and artistically, and have my work be appreciated by the community, even those who I don’t talk to very often!”
In the evening, the Lunar New Year dinner featured Chinese cultural dishes, including dumplings, scallion pancakes, braised meats, and spring rolls. Featuring food brought from New Jersey by visiting parents, the meal is highly anticipated by the community every year. Students sang favorite Chinese karaoke songs on the Ford Food Court stage during the meal.
The festivities concluded with a cultural celebration in the Student Center hosted by the Korean Club, Chinese Club, Triple A Club, and Pan Asian Club. Students experimented with calligraphy and enjoyed snacks and traditional games such as ddakji and Chinese yoyo. The night ended with the lighting of sparklers on the patio outside the Student Center. “These events are entirely student-led,” said Mr. Pierre Yoo, faculty coordinator of the celebrations. “I have always been amazed by what our students can do when given the opportunity to create, and I am so thankful to our community for uniting in celebration!”
Dr. Wei Liu, instructor in Chinese, said, “I’ve been living in this country for almost twenty years. The celebration may not be exactly the same as it was back in China, but to have this opportunity to share my culture with a new community in the States makes it so worthwhile.”
