A Day of Lunar New Year Celebrations Under the Pines

From an acrobat performance to a student-led Zoom session to stories of Chinese history, all three school communities celebrated Lunar New Year during last Friday’s assemblies.

Lower School students and faculty gathered together in Taylor Gymnasium to watch a live, interactive routine of Traditions of Chinese Acrobats from special guest Li Liu. As a one-woman acrobat artist, Li Liu performed traditional Chinese acrobatic skills including plate spinning, hand balancing, ribbon dancing, foot juggling, and artistic cycling.

During the break between each skill, Li Liu taught the audience traditional Mandarin phrases and touched on the history of the holiday, its rituals, and its importance in Chinese culture. She explained how the holiday is celebrated for 15 days to signify the seasonal change and that it’s custom for families to give red envelopes to their children filled with money as a token of good luck.

Middle School students and faculty were also treated to the live acrobatic performance. Seated in the Taylor Performing Arts Center, Li Liu greeted the audience as she shared more of her background in acrobatics noting she’s been training since she was 6 years old. She explained how the acrobatics and the ribbon dance she performed are part of the traditional lion and dragon dances seen on the streets during the Spring Festival.

During the interactive portion of both assemblies, a group of student volunteers got a hands-on opportunity to try plate spinning and ribbon dancing.  Li Liu instructed the groups on the proper technique before letting them try it alone. For the Lower School audience, plastic plates were used while a metal plate was used in the Middle School performance.

In their advisory meetings, Upper School students were treated to a video presentation on traditional Chinese New Year customs. The presentation was hosted by members of the Asian Student Union and international students.

“It is wonderful to be able to share our holiday with everyone,” said senior Carolyn Qin. “This presentation is a way of celebrating that we are in love with our culture, and we want to share it with people to open their eyes to other cultures and rituals.”

The presentation started with a story on the ancient legend monster Nian followed by the meaning of the decorations seen in the annual dragon parade. Students shared their traditions including a calligraphy drawing by sophomore Olivia Rong and painting of cherry blossom flowers. Justinian Ding and other students showed how to make homemade dumplings, which are customarily part of the sit-down family meal and symbolize prosperity and good fortune for the New Year.

Members of the Asian Student Union sang a traditional Mandarin song and wished all a Happy New Year. The online assembly ended with a quick game of Kahoot and messages of thanks to the school community for being part of this celebration.

Earlier in the week, Upper School Mandarin teacher Margaret Wei hosted a dumpling making class with her students. She noted that she had a series of workshops throughout the week in her classes where they did paper cutting and calligraphy to honor the year of the tiger.

“I enjoy the preparation of our annual CNY assembly very much,” said Mrs. Wei. “Most of the programs were designed and produced by students and I am especially proud of their dedication and passion for sharing their culture to our community.”

 

Click here to watch the Lunar New Celebration from the Hamden Hall Community.