Thriving Traditions

By Eleannor Tang

Chinese New Year is not just a one-week-long celebration. It consists of 15 days of gatherings, fireworks, ang paos, and delicious foods! This year's festival was somber for me. I knew it was the last one I could spend home with my family and relatives since I'll be abroad next year. I got to spend time with my baby niece, which was something memorable for me because my cousin used to babysit me when I was younger, and now I babysat her baby daughter, which felt like a full-circle moment. She even said that I was her favorite aunt! One of the things we kids look forward to during Chinese New Year is money. In Chinese culture, when you get married, you automatically aren't the ones receiving ang pao anymore but who offers them. It's one of my favorite parts because who doesn't love money?

On the other hand, fireworks aren't something I usually enjoy. It's loud, dangerous, and very smelly. With Penang's 35-degree weather, fireworks often make the night hotter and more unbearable to get through. I love this time of the year because I reconnect with family and experience my yearly traditions. 

Students at Dalat celebrate Chinese New Year in different ways. Let's see what Kiera Nichols says about how she spent her week: "I spent time with my family, and I spent lots of time eating home-cooked meals." 

Home-cooked meals are essential because they bring the taste of childhood and can make you relive the past. This is how another senior, Zoe Yeoh, spent hers: “I celebrated my Chinese new year in Taiwan, and it was a refreshing escape from the usual heat in Malaysia. The cool air, glowing lights, and mesmerizing fireworks made it an unforgettable experience.” 

Many students travel to different places to reunite with their loved ones to celebrate. Without them, Chinese New Year wouldn’t hold the same memories and meaning. 

On the 10th day of the Chinese New Year, I started the night with a color wars event with the underclassmen. The event included a trivia game, dodgeball, and a color war. It was a good bonding experience with people outside my friend group and from other grades. Right after, we went to Liv Gohan's house to make our own celebration. We did lou sang and played a game of poker, which me and Kiera came out victorious. Lou sang is a traditional Chinese raw fish salad, also known as a Prosperity Toss. You are supposed to use chopsticks to "toss" it up and down and wish for a good year to come. 

These 15 days of festivities are an essential part of Chinese culture. Dalat students get a five-day weekend to reunite with family and friends to celebrate this time. It's an important reminder for the current seniors that no matter how far away from home we are, we should try to keep the tradition alive.