What is known as the Chinese New Year in this country is commonly referred to as the Spring Festival in China, says Chinese teacher Lucia Hu. According to the Chinese lunar festival, the new year celebration, which generally lasts 15 days, began this year on February 18.

Ms. Hu explained to the students the legend of the spring festival during a special presentation in the school’s field house on Wednesday, February 21. This special buddy event featured a parade in which students in pre-school through grade 8 participated.

“The spring festival is the most important and biggest festival in China,” she said. “To the Chinese people, it is at least as important as Christmas is to people in the West. It is the first day of the lunar calendar and usually occurs somewhere between January 30 and February 20. This festival heralds the beginning of spring. It is also a festival of reunion. No matter how far away people are from their homes, they will try their best to get back home to celebrate a reunion dinner.”

The origin of the Chinese New Year festival can be traced back thousands of years. According to one of the most famous legends, in ancient China there lived a ferocious monster named Year. Year lived deep at the bottom of the sea all year round and climbed up to the shore only on New Year’s Eve to devour the cattle and kill the people. People in the villages would flee to remote mountains so as to avoid this disaster. One year, an old man offered the villagers an option to fleeing. His solution was to put bright red paper on all of the villagers’ doors and to fill their homes with noise. That is why on New Year’s Eve each family sticks antithetical couplets written on red paper on their doors, blows up firecrackers, and keeps their houses brilliantly illuminated while they stay up late into the night.

The Academy students made plenty of noise in honor of this traditional Chinese celebration. In addition, they were treated to a dance of the dragon courtesy of dancers from the Golden Dragon on Mack Avenue. “We really appreciate the authentic flavor that Yee Tom from the Golden Dragon was able to provide for the children,” said third grade teacher Jeanette Stepanek, who coordinates the school’s buddy program and organized the making of masks and paper dragons for the event.