If you were to stroll the halls of Veritas Academy lately, you may notice the many red and gold decorations popping up all around the building. The Chinese calligraphy gracing the decorations reveal the nationality that these pieces celebrate, and it's just one of the many ways we enjoy honoring the cultures represented at our school.
Saturday, January 28th was the first day of the Chinese New Year. The holiday we refer to as Chinese New Year is known as Spring Festival in China. It is a 15-day celebration with dates changing every year based on the lunar cycle. For Chinese families, this is one of the most important holidays of the year. Imagine the family feasting of Thanksgiving, the merriment and traditions of Christmas, and the excitement and fireworks of New Year’s Eve all combined into one holiday and you will begin to have the right idea.
For the past three years, Veritas Academy has made an effort to celebrate the Chinese New Year, honoring the Chinese international students and all families with Chinese roots studying at our school. This year, our 5th graders held a Chinese New Year feast on Friday January 27 (New Year’s Eve). Parents and teachers prepared homemade Chinese food and the international students were invited as guests of honor. Because of the 13 hour time difference with China, these 5th grade students were able to witness the excitement of the holiday live and have a face-to-face conversation with a friend celebrating on the other side of the world.
There are many different traditions associated with Spring Festival, one of the most common being the hanging of red spring couplets on doorways. A spring couplet is a pair of lines of poetry, following a set of rules giving it parallel structure, and traditionally written on red rice paper. In the past we have bought spring couplets in Philadelphia’s Chinatown to use as decorations, but this year we asked for the help of one of our international students.
Victoria Qian is completing her 3rd year studying at Veritas and will graduate this May. She is a skilled calligraphy artist. You can see her work hanging year-round in the short hallway across from the school office. A local Chinese pastor recommended a spring couplet that would be meaningful to us as a Christian school.
Here are the lines of poetry and an English translation:
辭舊歲數算神恩
Counting the Lord’s blessing as biding farewell to the Old Year.
迎新春靜思主愛
Meditating on God’s love as welcoming the New Year.
This picture below shows a more detailed translation of the couplets, specifically illustrating their parallel structure.
The festivities will continue with a school-wide Chinese New Year celebration on Friday, February 10. This special day will begin with a lion dance parade down the hallway and include an optional Chinese buffet lunch served for interested students and even parents. All students have the option to wear traditional Chinese clothing instead of their school uniforms. If you are a current Veritas parent, be sure to check out the eeekly Communication and a special email sent out by Rona' Martin for more details on participating in this special cultural event.
