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Mandarin Students Learn the History of Lunar New Year
The Lunar New Year is Friday, Feb. 12, and Gavin Immer’s Mandarin students have been learning about its history, traditions, and ways to celebrate. Mandarin 7 students shared what they’ve learned below.
Here at St. Luke's, we love to express different cultures' traditions with school-wide celebrations. When it comes to the Lunar New Year, or what is more commonly known as Chinese New Year, we all get to see the amazing decorations in the commons and experience China’s culture. But, there is much more to learn about the culture and celebrations, and many interesting things to discover!
The Lunar New Year originated during the Shang Dynasty in 1600 B.C. The Lunar New Year's date was decided in 1046 B.C. during the Zhou Dynasty, but the date was not correct until the Han Dynasty fixed it in 202 B.C. The Lunar New Year lasts 16 days and is the one time when most families get to see each other. Each Chinese month lasts 28 days to keep the New Year lined up with the sun, with a leap year added every three years.
There are many legends about the Lunar New Year. One of the most prominent is about a beast, Nian. The story says that many years ago, there was a great beast in a village that would eat livestock, crops, and even people on the eve of the New Year. To keep the village safe from the beast, the village’s people would put out food on their doorsteps. After a while, it is said that an older man figured out that the beast was afraid of the color red and loud noises. From then on, the village would wear red and use firecrackers every New Year’s Eve.
In Chinese culture, every year has a different animal as its zodiac sign. This is the year of the Ox. The Ox symbolizes hard work and movement in Chinese culture and stands for diligence, persistence, intelligence, reliability, and honesty.
Another big piece of the culture is the food that is served during the Lunar New Year. Dishes, such as fish, dumplings, sweet rice balls, fruit, rice cakes, and noodles, carry different meanings. Fish is eaten to increase prosperity; dumplings and spring rolls to gain wealth; tangyuan stands for family togetherness; fruit is eaten for fullness and wealth; nian gao is served to promote a higher income; noodles bring happiness and longevity.
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 35 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
