Kindergarteners from teachers Nicole DiBattisto, Shawna Spriggs and Loni Butlin’s classes made festive hats, handed out tangerines and created a parade with mini-dragons and lanterns for classmates on January 23, the traditional spring festival in China and also the beginning of the new year.
With the colors red and gold for good luck, paper dragons, hand-held drums and cries of “Gung Hei Fat Choy,” which means “Best wishes and Congratulations. Have a prosperous and good year,” students celebrated the 15-day Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dragon.
Classrooms were decorated with flowers and fruit as well as Chinese scrolls hung on walls or doorways to carry messages of good health, luck, long life, prosperity, and happiness.
According to tradition, everyone takes care to say and do the right things and think good thoughts. On the seventh day of the New Year everyone adds a year to their age no matter when they were born. In traditional China, individual birthdays were not considered as important as this New Year’s date.
Quest is an authorized International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme.
