by Estrella Cores and Jesse Garcia

Did you know that the Chinese Lunar New Year doesn’t have a set date?

At James DeAnda Elementary School, an amazing Lunar New Year event was presented for students on January 31. 

“Today and all week we’ve been celebrating the Lunar New Year, which is the Year of the Rat,”said Principal Mailhoit. “All week long our students have been researching about the Lunar New Year, and it makes them more globally aware of the parts that make up our world.”

For Chinese Lunar New Year event, the musical group performed an amazing piece they practiced on, and following them a group of fourth graders danced to a lovely Chinese song. But one of the best things was when Anh Luu and his partners from Soaring Phoenix performed their stunning lion dance. In the dance, they dressed up as dragons, which is one of the things Chinese culture is known for. They danced and soared, jumping on long poles and acting like a brave, ferocious dragon.The hidden meaning behind the lion dance is that it actually symbolizes power, wisdom, and superiority. They present this dance to bring fortune, luck, and to chase away bad spirits.

This event was really important to the school because the students learn about another country and their traditions. “At James DeAnda Elementary, we celebrate global leadership and our celebration today has offered our students a chance to learn about different cultures,” said Principal Mailhoit. For example, it was really kind that the musical group, the fourth graders, and the lion dancers worked really hard and spent their time practicing on their performance.

“It is really important and caring for someone that isn’t originally from this country to put in such effort and do something [for DeAnda],” stated Anh Luu. This event could also be the start of a great career. This could inspire the students to lion dance when they grow up. This could also encourage them to do something similar and help us improve the future for everybody.

“Happy Lunar New Year, year of the rat, and I wish you the best of luck,” said Principle Mailhoit.