Sudipa Chowdhury is a junior at Newark Charter Senior High School.
Newark Charter Senior High School has a long tradition of embracing diversity through its foreign language programs and classes for Spanish, French and Chinese. Despite being a non-Indo-European language, Chinese has grown to be exceedingly popular among Newark Charter students, allowing significant exposure to a culture far different from what our students are accustomed to. To demonstrate our appreciation for and knowledge of Chinese culture and to further immerse ourselves in the language, students in the National Chinese Honor Society and in the Chinese classes took the initiative to plan and host the Chinese New Year Gala at the school.
Chinese New Year, also known as the “Spring Festival,” is the most important traditional holiday in China, marking the beginning of the Lunar New Year. Based on the Chinese zodiac, this year is the Year of the Snake. It typically falls between late January and mid-February and is celebrated with family reunions, feasts, firecrackers, dragon and lion dances, and red decorations symbolizing good luck. Customs include giving money-filled red envelopes, known as “hong bao,” to children to honor ancestors, plus numerous other practices to sweep away bad luck and welcome prosperity into the home.
One of the most notable aspects of Chinese New Year, often overlooked in the midst of the elaborate celebrations, is the sense of community. In China, extended family, as well as neighborhood friends, join together to plan the festivities and decorate their homes. In the same sense, Newark Charter students came together to coordinate the event, practice their performances, decorate the venue and host the gala.
NCS junior Charlotte Seiler, president of the National Chinese Honor Society, reflected that “this club represents that anybody from any background can come together to celebrate others and their culture. Despite the challenges we may have faced when planning this gala, we pushed together as a team and made something beautiful. This would not be possible without the teamwork and dedication of members and Mrs. Hongmei Tegeler,” the school’s Chinese teacher. Ultimately, the crucial efforts of the students and Mrs. Tegeler culminated with a beautiful celebration of Chinese culture and tradition.
The gala was held Feb. 28, a few weeks after the official New Year, and included student performances such as the seaweed dance, prepared by Chinese III and IV students; a dragon ribbon performance presented by members of the honor society; and an Indian dance to expand the horizons of the gala and show appreciation for other Asian cultures. The program also incorporated performances from numerous community organizations and other schools. The Chunhui Chinese Association organized an authentic lion dance performance and a dance known as “Spring Comes to the Grassland,” which is an unrestrained Chinese Mongolian dance.
The Chinese American Community Center’s Chinese School of Delaware also contributed that evening through a joyful performance to “Moonlight Over the Lotus Pond,” presented by young dancers; a beautifully choreographed swan dance or hong yan; and an astonishing yo-yo performance. Additionally, students from John R. Downes Elementary School, with their Chinese language education program, were invited to perform a rendition of the traditional Chinese song “Gongxi Gongxi.” Finally, we were blessed with a singing performance of the piece “From the Start,” delivered by Brenda Tegeler. In addition to the multitude of diverse and phenomenal stage performances, the gala attendees were also invited to practice twirling the dragon ribbon and test their skills in a traditional Chinese sport known as “jianqiu.” It was truly a night to remember for both the attendees and the students who supported the planning process. Ella Zhao, a junior and one of the vice presidents of the honor society, made the following statement to capture how all the students and attendees felt after witnessing the gala’s success: “It was so exciting and fulfilling to see the NCS community gather together and celebrate Chinese culture. Despite the rescheduling, I was glad that many people came to support the amount of work that we and the other performers had put in. The atmosphere was extremely lighthearted, and it warmed my heart to see that we brought them happiness, while also embracing Chinese traditions.”
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