Ringing in the Year of the Rat at Eaglebrook
The Year of the Rat was ushered in at Eaglebrook in style. The school community wore red to the 2nd annual Lunar New Year Celebration, held on February 6 in the Gibbs Dining Hall. The celebration was filled with beautiful decorations, delicious food, and an entertaining lion dance put on by the Worcester Youth Nian Dancers. Watch the dance here.
The décor in Gibbs Dining Hall reflected hopes for a healthy and successful new year. On each table, the bamboo centerpieces symbolized the growth for more, the kumquats are for good luck, the cherry blossoms symbolize spring, and lions and dragons are symbolic animals. At the end of the meal, the faculty passed out Lai See with candy to each student at the table and gave them their good wishes for the new year.
The Lunar New Year is the longest holiday of the year. The national holiday begins on the first of the Lunar Calendar and lasts until the 15th of the first month. This year is the first time since 2008 that the rat has been represented. The Rat is the first of all zodiac animals. In Chinese culture, rats are seen as a sign of surplus and wealth.
The celebration at Eaglebrook brings an important cultural event from a different part of the world and widens our student’s world view. Lunar New Year celebrations are similar all over the world and we look forward to ushering in the Lunar New Year again next year. See photos from the celebration here.
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271 Pine Nook Road | P. O. Box 7 | Deerfield, MA 01342 | 413-774-7411
