On Tuesday, Jan. 28, the KO community gathered in Hewett Gymnasium to celebrate the Year of the Snake and learn about the Lunar New Year.
The Lunar New Year is traditionally celebrated for 15 days and marks the beginning of the new lunar calendar. The New Year is one of the most anticipated holidays of the year in many East Asian and Southeast Asian cultures, and is oftentimes celebrated through feasts and traditions to ensure good fortune. During the assembly, KO learned about and experienced some of these various traditions while also having the opportunity to earn points for their houses
Traditionally, red envelopes filled with money are given to youth during the celebration to symbolize good luck and wishes for the new year ahead. To get everybody in the spirit, the assembly started with a version of this tradition. The emcees asked a series of questions to the crowd of students and whoever was courageous enough to raise their hand and answer the question correctly earned themselves a red envelope filled with Chinese currency.
The crowd erupted with each correct answer, especially when students in the York house answered a majority of the questions correctly, adding a number of points to their ongoing tally.
Students then heard a number of wonderful performances and speeches touching on personal experiences of the Lunar New Year. First, sophomore Alan Xiang played an incredible performance on his ruan, a traditional Chinese plucked string lute.
Next, juniors Jason Chen and Leo Liu spoke about their experiences and favorite celebrations during the new year. “Spending extra time with my family and having big feasts are my favorite memories, but receiving the red envelopes is always fun too,” Jason said.
“The celebration of the Lunar New Year is truly a beautiful one,” Leo said. “It is a time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the upcoming one, to set wishes, and most importantly, spend time with your loved ones.”
Next came a chopstick relay game. Both Upper School and Middle School students had to pick up a ping pong ball with chopsticks and carry it from one end of the basketball court inside Hewett Gymnasium to the other without dropping it, or else they had to restart.
Rounding out the assembly, seniors Max Huang and Andy Chen touched on the impact of the celebration on themselves and the KO community. “When I came here as a freshman, there was nothing like this,” Max said. “I am so happy that with the help of so many people, we were able to create this amazing celebration from nothing.”
With this holiday being celebrated by so many students across campus, to be able to celebrate and learn more about it quickly became a special day for all involved.
