Faculty, staff and students in all three divisions enjoyed a celebration of the Lunar New Year on Wednesday, Jan. 29, welcoming the Year of the Snake with traditional Chinese games and crafts, foods and a thrilling dragon parade.

Also known as the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year, the Lunar New Year is the most important celebration in China, marking the beginning of the year according to the traditional lunar calendar. Family members travel from afar to be together on Lunar New Year’s Eve, as the holiday is an important occasion to spend time with their loved ones and pay their respects to their elders and ancestors. Many decorations celebrating the holiday are in the color red, which signifies good fortune in Chinese culture. The 15-day celebration is concluded with the Lantern Festival, during which people enjoy tangyuan, or sweet glutinous rice balls, and children carry lanterns around the neighborhood at night. 

In addition to China, many countries across Asia and around the world celebrate the Lunar New Year, with many cultures enjoying their own distinctive traditions.

Ravenscroft’s celebrations were made possible by a rich collaboration between the school’s Mandarin teachers and students, Middle and Upper School affinity groups and clubs, parent volunteers and community partners. 

In the Fine Arts Center, classes rotating through Pugh Lobby enjoyed a robust schedule of activities, including calligraphy and cultural presentations led by students in the Advanced Placement Chinese Language and Culture course as well as kung fu workshops led by students in the Honors Mandarin IV classes. Visitors also enjoyed crafts such as origami and drawing the snake of the Chinese Zodiac. There were traditional snacks, too, and a special dance performance and workshop led by guests from the Cary Chinese Senior Center.

Up by the Middle School, additional stations invited students to practice calligraphy, Chinese yo-yo, bamboo-pole stepping and the use of chopsticks. A photo station featuring a backdrop of vibrant red lanterns provided a fun way to capture memories of the day.

For the students who helped plan and lead the day’s programs, seeing how many of their classmates and friends joined in the fun and learning was gratifying.

“The feeling I got from seeing everyone — even people who don’t take Chinese — participate in all of the Chinese games and experience Chinese culture made me happy,” Alexa Wadley ’26 said. “It allowed me to learn more about myself and share the language and cultural knowledge with the whole community. My classmates and I only experience the culture in class, so it was nice to open it up to everyone and share it.”

“This is the first year where my family are not celebrating the Lunar New Year ourselves due to our busy schedules, so I was very happy that the school was able to host this event,” Beixi Gu ’25 added. “Every year, I fry up some of our homemade spring rolls and bring them to school, and even if I have to wake up at 5 a.m. to prepare for them, I would happily do that every year if I could. One of my best moments was spending time with the [Lower School] kids during my study hall. They were very eager to learn and participate in the activities, which made me feel proud to celebrate and share my culture with them.”

Middle School Mandarin teacher Chiu-Ping Lin noted that this year’s expanded programming at the Middle School provided an opportunity for students to lean in as leaders. 

“I am very proud of my Mandarin students, who took the lead at each activity station, shared their passion for different cultures and inspired everyone to truly engage in celebrating Lunar New Year. I was very excited to see all the middle school students engaged in the activities, whether it was trying a Chinese yo-yo for the first time, writing Chinese couplets, asking the calligraphy master to write their Chinese name on a bookmark or even voting for the best Lunar New Year posters!” she said, adding, “This Lunar New Year celebration wouldn’t have been successful without everyone’s efforts, including the support from Middle School leadership team and teachers.” 

Yan Zhou, who teaches Mandarin in both the Middle and Upper School, expressed deep appreciation for the contributions of parent volunteers as well, many of whom have been supporting this event for years through their involvement in the Global Parent Ambassadors. 

“Parents played a significant role in the Lunar New Year celebrations by supplying costumes, Asian snacks and all necessary materials for the schoolwide activities. Additionally, they volunteered their time to assist with crafts, calligraphy, snack distribution and dancing,” she said. “It takes a community to hold an event. I am so glad to see the whole community celebrating the Lunar New Year.”

Upper School Mandarin teacher and World Language Department chair Yi-Wen Liu said she, too, was proud of how the day unfolded.

“Organizing Lunar New Year events and engaging our school community has been a passion of mine for the past few years. I am delighted to see our students grow as leaders and become more involved, from their freshman year to their senior year. It is especially fulfilling to witness Upper School students volunteering their time and sharing their cultural knowledge with our Lower School students,” she said. “This celebration truly brings our school community together, fostering curiosity and appreciation for diversity. It provides an opportunity for students, faculty, staff and families from all divisions to participate and celebrate if they choose to.”

Thank you to the parent volunteers whose generosity and dedication made this year’s Lunar New Year celebration possible! Enjoy this short video that highlights their many contributions throughout the day. 

Thank you to Mandarin teacher Yan Zhou for putting together the video; its original soundtrack was created using Suno, an AI music generator.