Chinese New Year

Gong Xi Fa Cai! It's the year of the Horse and today we celebrated in true Chinese fashion. The lion dance and dragon dance are both important parts of their New Year rituals and celebrations. The dragon symbolizes wealth, power and good luck. The Chinese culture is very superstitious. They clean their homes from top to bottom in the days leading up to the new year. This is to rid their house of any bad luck that has come in over the year. In the days after the New Year, they are not supposed to sweep their floors, as doing so could sweep out any good luck the New Year brought in. They are to pay off debits, resolve any conflicts and basically start fresh. My students and I had fun learning about their beliefs and celebrations and discussing how their New Year celebrations are similar and different to those in our home countries. You may remember my CNY post from last year - this year's school celebration was very similar. The boys loved having Uncle Ty Ty there to watch! 

Dragon Dance

Some of my sweet girls dressed in Chinese attire

Chinese Dancers

Martial Arts 

Lion Dance - my favorite!

God of Wealth - creepy

God of Health - not as creepy

And finally we end with our own version of the Lion Dance, brought to you by Luke, Drew & Ella... 

The cutest Lion Dancers I've ever seen :)