Chinese New Year spirit event takes place

The seniors and sophomores perform their routine during Wednesday lunchs activity.  Each grade made paper dragons and choreographed a dance for the judges.  With students and teachers watching on the sides of the walkways in front of Manzanita Hall, the performances were a great way to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Sean Youn

The seniors and sophomores perform their routine during Wednesday lunch’s activity. Each grade made paper dragons and choreographed a dance for the judges. With students and teachers watching on the sides of the walkways in front of Manzanita Hall, the performances were a great way to celebrate Chinese New Year.

As part of a class competition, students made a paper dragon and then choreographed a dance routine to present to the judges on Wednesday during long lunch to honor the upcoming Chinese New Year.

They had thirty minutes to construct a unique design with paper and cardboard and less than five minutes to display it. The Chinese National Honors Society thought it appropriate to spread awareness with the holiday a mere two days from Wednesday.

Officially the first day of the Chinese calendar, this tradition has endured for many centuries and has many myths associated with it. The festival was originally supposed to be a veneration of Chinese religious figures and ancestors. Today, it has permeated across the globe; even nations that do not have a Chinese majority recognize the festival.

Students are especially fond of the red envelopes they receive during the festival.

“I like getting money in red envelopes,” Kevin Zhang (11) said in regards to the money he receives from elders.  “I enjoy celebrating Chinese New Year because it is a chance for me to connect with my parent’s friends and relatives in China.”

In addition to fostering an opportunity to spend time with family and friends, the Chinese New Year is known for its food.

“Chinese new year is really predicated on the family and food is usually a large part of celebrations,” Allen Huang (11) said. “So dinner is very special on chinese new year filled with treats like sticky rice and fish and dumplings.”

These Chinese specialties prepared for the festival each have their own significance. For example, feasting on fish supposedly brings wealth, as the sound of the Chinese word for the food, “yu,” resembles that of the word for prosperity. Similarly, for noodle-lovers, the longer the noodle, the greater one’s longevity.

Allen added that another distinguishing feature of Chinese New Year is the color red; adorning this color is symbolic in Chinese tradition for warding off all evils and bad spirits.

As an added bonus, students enrolled in the Mandarin classes were offered extra credit if they participated in the festivities; with spirit club also helping, the Chinese New Year activity tried to encompass as many students as possible.

Many, regardless of whether they possess Chinese background or not, are highly anticipating the event this Friday.

“I think the holiday and recognizing it is an important part of the multicultural society we pride ourselves on maintaining at Harker,” Vikas Bhetanabhotla (12) said.

Various celebrations for the festival are being all over the Bay Area, in popular locations such as San Francisco’s Chinatown, and are expected to gather massive crowds on Friday.