Elementary school students learn about Lunar New Year

Conshohocken and Ridge Park elementary schools celebrated the start of the Lunar New Year this week by wearing red and holding parades throughout their buildings.

The Lunar New Year began Feb. 17 on the first new moon in the lunar calendar and is widely celebrated by Chinese communities. This year is the Year of the Horse. 

Students learned through various classroom activities that the holiday is celebrated annually through festivals that are meant to bring people good fortune and prosperity throughout the coming year. Wearing red, hanging red banners, and eating treats meant to bring good luck are all part of Lunar New Year celebrations.

At Ridge Park Elementary School, students had the privilege of watching professional lion dancers lead their parade. The dancers later performed a short assembly as well, speaking to students about the tradition behind lion dancing, which connects to a story associated with Lunar New Year celebrations. The story, which has many variations, is about a monster that terrorized villagers and ate their food. To keep the monster away, villagers made lion costumes out of papier-mache and bamboo to scare the beast from their crops and homes.

After taking some questions from the students about their costumes and how they make the lions dance, the dancers performed. As drums and cymbals played, the lions danced around cheering students and really excited the crowd by spraying bits of lettuce into the air.