Wisdom, transformation, and strategic growth: are just a few of the qualities that should present themselves during this Chinese New Year. This year, the holiday began on Jan. 29 and lasts for fifteen days (through Feb. 12). The celebration’s end is traditionally marked with the Lantern Festival in China. This holiday is full of food, family, traditions, and good fortune, and is timed according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar.
Chinese New Year marks the transition between zodiac signs. For 2025, the dragon shifts into the snake. While the Year of the Dragon represents energy and excitement, the Year of the Snake represents intuitive energy and personal change.
Ms. Lei Cohen, Upper School Mandarin Teacher, shares a few details about the Chinese New Year,
“Another name for it is the Lunar New Year. I think it started like three thousand years ago. For the Chinese, it is very similar to Thanksgiving. People get together, go home, and eat a lot. It usually lasts for fifteen days.”
This festival began during the reign of the Shang Dynasty, in approximately 1600-1046 B.C. It began as a ritual to keep a mythical beast called Nian away from livestock, crops, and people on the eve of the new year. According to legend, the Chinese people began lighting firecrackers, putting up lanterns, and leaving food out to scare the Nian away from their houses. The Lunar New Year continued through dynasties and even in modern times. It is now a public holiday in China called Spring Festival.
At Benjamin, the Chinese New Year is celebrated a little bit differently. An assembly was held to honor and educate on the holiday. Ms. Cohen planned the festivities.
“I introduced [the holiday] and I invited a master of Chi Gong, which is part of Kung Fu, to come and perform. My Chinese students also performed a song,” shared Ms. Cohen.
Junior Abby Trousdell, an Honors Chinese 4 scholar, was among those who celebrated. “The experience of singing and dancing to ‘Gong Xi Ni’ was a highlight of my high school career. The laughter of my classmates helped make the performance even better. I felt the school spirit rising,” Trousdell said.
This Chinese holiday has a very distinct purpose and meaning, contrastingly to many American holidays. Its inspirational and optimistic tendencies are what make it such a unique and important celebration.
“I like it, it’s a different culture. I’ve noticed here you say ‘Hey it’s Christmas’. I never hear people say, ‘What does Christmas mean to you for the future?’, you know. Like after this Christmas to next Christmas, what is happening,” explained Ms. Cohen. “Chinese New Year will say ‘Oh this year is the snake year which will mean success, prosperity, luck, good fortune’. I feel like that’s why I want to do this. I want everybody to know that there’s something to look forward to for next year.”
Ms. Cohen’s position is shared by her students, including sophomore Matthew Fitzpatrick. “I think it’s important to embrace everyone’s culture,” Fitzpatrick said.
“China is a country with a lot of global influence on us. Exposing ourselves to their culture through their holidays, for example, is a good way to be able to relate to people who can be important in the future in business and international relations,” expressed junior Devin Maharaj, another Chinese student.
As the Chinese New Year is now in full swing, the festival will be celebrated by those in China and those at Benjamin alike. The holiday has a rich history and many traditions, which truly bring it alive. Hopefully, the Year of the Snake will live up to the traits it is supposed to represent.
