The Lunar New Year was on February 1 this year. Also known as Chinese New Year, the Lunar New Year is a 15 day festival celebrating the beginning of the new year on the lunisolar Chinese calendar. The holiday is celebrated by many East and South East Asian people.

Mandarin teacher Sabrina Wun said, “Chinese New Year is very important to Chinese and many other Asian people because it is a holiday where families reunite to have dinner together and celebrate.”

Eating dinner with family is a common way to celebrate the new year. Junior Evonne Xu said, “Every year my family all gets together to eat dinner; we usually will eat something with auspicious meanings. For example, we’ll eat dumplings since they are in a round shape like a gold coin and supposedly bring wealth and good fortune. New Year’s Eve dinner is typically very important.”

The Chinese zodiac is a key component of the Lunar New Year; the zodiacs influence how people, who celebrate the Lunar New Year, will live their lives for the next year. There are 12 animals in the Chinese Zodiac: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. Each animal has their own specific traits, and many Chinese follow the zodiacs when looking for guidance in life. This year will be the Year of the Tiger, which is believed to bring change and help people overcome challenges.

“The tiger is often associated with strength and power, so people that are born the year of the tiger will have strong personalities and will overcome challenges easily,” said Wun.

Leadership decorated the hallways with red lanterns for Lunar New Year, and students were excited to see the festive decorations. Red is believed to bring joy and luck, and the color is also believed to ward off bad and unlucky spirits. Junior Eric Lee commented, “I thought that the decorated hallways looked great. I’m so glad Leadership took time out of their day to beautify our school.”