Gong xi fa cai!

With the Chinese New Year rapidly approaching (as well as the first Exeat), everyone was welcomed with a colourful display by Lara and team this lunch-time. Sitting amid bright red lanterns and decorative umbrellas, pupils and staff devoured an array of culinary delights.  These included spring rolls, noodles, pak choi, lychees, dragon fruit and fortune cookies. 

The annual celebration begins on the new moon that comes between Jan 21 and Feb 20. This year, it will start on 25 Jan 2020 and end on 11 Feb 2021, when the Year of the Ox begins.

The new year, also known in China as the Spring Festival, is marked by the lunisolar Chinese calendar.  For those who don’t know, it means the date changes from year to year.  Festivities usually start the day before the new year and carry on until the Lantern Festival fifteen days later.

Divided into 12 blocks (or houses), the Chinese zodiac is like its western counterpart. The only major difference is that each house has a time-length of one year instead of one month.  Each Chinese New Year is characterised by one of 12 animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac.  This year, it’s the Year of the Rat, which symbolises wealth and the beginning of a new day.

Aside from a delicious lunch, Mrs Syckelmoore encouraged her Chinese students to teach the rest of her class how to write in Chinese using traditional brushes and ink, not dissimilar to calligraphy.  

Wishing you a great weekend and…Gong xi fa cai!