Celebrating the Lunar New Year at HSES

By Anissa Herner

2025 is the year of the Snake. This year symbolizes regrowth and good luck; Those born during this year are known to be thoughtful, charming, and astute.

FEBRUARY 6th, the students at the High School for Environmental Studies gathered in the cafeteria to learn about the Lunar New Year. The holiday, also known as the Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival, dates back to the third millennium BCE. Students, as well as faculty, were given the chance to learn more about the traditions and the beliefs behind Lunar New Year during this event.

While the Western New Year occurs every January 1st, and involves time honored traditions like watching the ball drop and kissing at midnight, Lunar New Year occurs at a different time and is celebrated much differently. The holiday is based on the Lunar calendar, rather than the Gregorian one. This means Lunar New Year falls from late January to early February, on a different day each year. The multiple traditions of the Lunar New Year stress the importance of family and serve to usher in luck and fortune in the new year. While these traditions are complex, event-goers dutifully learned the traditions and importance of holiday, down to what foods symbolize what and which Chinese characters should be hung on the walls, from those who celebrate the holiday themselves.

This event served to showcase the beauty of Chinese culture while engrossing others who might not have had the opportunity to learn about the traditions that occur during this holiday. The Lunar New Year celebration at HSES was created and hosted by the Asian Association Club. The student-led club collaborated with the ENL Success Team and Manhattan Mandarin to bring this event to life. Newspaper club would like to thank Mr. Chen for inviting the Eagle Eye team to participate and cover the event.

In-depth video coverage of this event can be found here: https://youtu.be/mhsHDtHWrVU

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