Lunar New Year Celebration Offers Moment of Reflection

The downpour of rain didn’t stop Poly from celebrating the Lunar New Year on February 7! Students enrolled in all levels of Mandarin courses, including Mandarin 1 in the Middle School, welcomed the Year of the Snake in Gamble Gym. Our Poly students amazed the crowd with cultural performances, such as a lion dance, straw hat dance, and play dramatizing the meaning of the snake in Chinese villages.

One special contribution to the event was a new dragon costume that fits several students under its layers, brought back by hand by Upper School Mandarin Teacher Lois Chung from Taiwan during last year’s PolyGlobal trip. A special thanks to Poly’s Asian Affinity Group (PAAG) for co-sponsoring the purchase of the dragon costume and bringing a “face changer” performer to the school, who delighted audiences across Poly’s three divisions.

The Lunar New Year brings symbolic meaning annually to communities across Asia with the shedding of the old and the advent of the new. This year brought extra meaning as the class began preparing in December, ultimately questioning whether the performance would continue due to the impact and the devastation of the Eaton Fires. This reminded Lois of her first Lunar New Year celebration at Poly after the school’s COVID-19 closure, which brought the community together for this symbolic holiday.

“This was the first event across campus after the fires that brought us together. I remember how powerful it was in 2022 when the whole community celebrated the Lunar New Year. When Upper School Director José Melgoza said we would still continue with the performance, I told my class that this event would be even more important and meaningful as a symbol of togetherness,” Lois shared. 

In many Asian cultures, the Lunar New Year celebrates hope for the coming year and closes the chapter on the previous year. Family and friends will visit each other and bring good wishes to one another. Mandarin Teacher Cheyanne Yao shared a powerful metaphor with classes about how the snake sheds its skin and how this represents a fresh start for all.

After the performances, students came to South Campus to participate in traditional crafts such as face painting and taste Chinese treats such as a tea ceremony and New Year cakes. The Upper School Library was transformed as students avoided the rain and celebrated together, uplifting the spirit of the community. 

This was an especially busy week for Lois as she also hosted a workshop at the Huntington Library. The workshop brought together Mandarin teachers across Southern California to collaborate and learn how to incorporate the Chinese Garden in their curriculum. Attendees engaged with the project Poly’s AP Chinese students helped design last year—"Curating the Huntington Chinese Garden"—and learned how to integrate this project into their curriculum.

Poly is grateful to our Mandarin teachers, Mimi Chiu, Lois Chung, and Cheyanne Yao, for hosting a wonderful Lunar New Year celebration and for the support from the Poly Asian Affinity Group. We hope this event gave the community time to pause and reflect during this renewing cultural holiday.