Intercultural Leadership, Asian Culture Club, and Chinese Culture Club hosted their annual Lunar New Year celebration on Thursday after school. Students and staff crowded the Green, drawn in by the cultural festivities, a variety of food, traditional music performances, and paper lanterns lining nearby hallways.
Lunar New Year is an annual holiday based on the lunisolar calendar, a system that synchronizes lunar months with the solar year. It is widely celebrated in East and Southeast Asia with a variety of festivities welcoming the new year with good fortune, family reunion, and new beginnings.
The event first kicked off with an iconic Lion Dance, performed by the Stanford Lion Dance Team. Students cheered loudly as the lion dancers swayed to the beat of traditional Chinese drums. They ended with the modern melody of “Soda Pop” from the hit movie, KPop Demon Hunters.
“Everyone loves seeing the lion dancers,” AP English Literature and Composition and Intercultural Leadership teacher Susie Choe said. “It’s nice to have all of the staff and the students come out and celebrate, whether you’re Asian or not, whether you celebrate Lunar New Year or not.”
Following the Lion Dance, seniors Viet-Tran Gemma Do, Milo Kroh, and Hugo Loose performed on guzheng, erhu, and cello, respectively. They played iconic Chinese songs, such as “The Moon Represents My Heart” by Teresa Teng and “Blue and White Porcelain” by Jay Chou, amplifying the festive atmosphere with classic music.
“I was offered by Milo to play music for the Lunar New Year. And I decided, since I played the cello, why not? That’s a good idea. I think it’s good to represent different cultures throughout M-A,” Loose said.
Students engaged in a variety of cultural arts throughout the event. Attendees could make their own festive decorations by writing traditional Chinese calligraphy and making Chinese knots. Other students spent their time painting on traditional fans or getting their faces painted.
Additional stations were present, dedicated to paper-cutting, ceramic painting, sugar painting, and more. Students could also buy ice cream, boba tea, and popcorn chicken if they felt hungry. On top of that, there were games such as Chinese yo-yo and a trivia board centered around the event and its history.
“My favorite station was face painting because I got to paint my friend’s face as a minion,” senior Katherine Vera Yarleque said. “I enjoyed everything. The dances and the music, I think they were pretty good.”
“I really liked the fan making station, and also the popcorn chicken,” sophomore Riona Nerrie said. “[Lunar New Year] just holds a lot of tradition and cultures from different places. It’s a lot of fun.”
The celebration ultimately wrapped up successfully, with students walking away with their newly-made crafts and fun memories to cherish.
“As long as we keep the tradition alive—you know, switching things up—I think it would be best for it to thrive,” Chinese Culture Club Co-President and senior Jeremy Wen said. “The ultimate goal is to understand that there’s this other part of culture in this world that, you know, celebrates a completely different calendar.”
“For many busy students, it’s a chance to pause, enjoy a festive atmosphere, and strengthen friendships across different groups,” Chinese teacher Rui Dong said. Dong helped organize the event, overseeing the planning process. “[Lunar New Year] is a vibrant introduction to traditions, stories, and values important to many Asian cultures.”
