CELEBRATING CHINESE NEW YEAR AT SLAS
BY JENNIFER JIANG
Chinese New Year, also known as the “Spring Festival,”
is an important tradition that celebrates the arrival of
a new year based on the ancient lunar calendar.
Annually, this celebration lasts for sixteen days with its
last day known as the Lantern Festival. At SLAS, teachers
and students celebrated this Chinese tradition starting
with a 10 day holiday in January and finishing with a
spectacular show on campus on the day of the Lantern
Festival.
Howard Yan, a junior at SLAS, exclaimed, “I think the
10-day-long holiday definitely allows us to truly
experience the joy of the Chinese people during the
celebration. The holiday gave both teachers and
students a break from work and allowed them to gather
with family and friends like the Chinese people do
during this special holiday. For instance, I went
shopping with my parents in the preceding days of the
celebration according to the Chinese tradition. After
buying tons of goods from the supermarket, I indulged
myself in the goodness of the traditional Chinese treats.
I have to say that they actually taste not so bad!” He
proceeded to say, “I was able to have a great reunion
dinner with my grandparents too. It was eye-watering
to meet them again during this time of the year. That
night, we also ate plenty of niangao and jiaozi, which
are foods that symbolize prosperity in Chinese
tradition.”
activities during the holiday, others applauded the
special performance from SLAS’s fine arts department
during the Lantern Festival. Moreover, young children
enjoyed the traditional lion dance by the professionals
invited by our principal before eating the tangyuan
prepared by our cafeteria staff.
Matthew Zhou, a sophomore at SLAS, commented on
the performances, “I really appreciate the performance
from our fine art teachers. From their performance, it
was evident to see that they definitely spent a lot of
time rehearsing their singing and dancing. In addition,
the lion dance was also invigorating as the dancers
manipulated their fancy costume and interacted with
the cute kindergarten students.” Meanwhile, David Lin,
a classmate of Matthew, added, “Many students also
enjoyed the tangyuan after the performance was over.
I think it was a great experience for them to try the
traditional Chinese dessert that is a ‘must-eat’ on the
day of the Lantern Festival.”
Given these points, Chinese New Year stands as an
important event in Chinese culture. In order to honor
and pay respect to this special event, the SLAS
community enjoyed a 10 day holiday and a unique
performance during the Lantern Festival. It is a great
experience to participate in the traditional practices of
the Chinese people during the “Spring Festival!”
While most of the people discussed their interesting
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