Campus News
Chinese New Year
Our students and families recently celebrated the Chinese New Year (CNY) with the traditional greeting ‘Kung Hei Fat Choi’. The CNY is also called the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival and it is the most important celebration in the Chinese Calendar.
It marks the first moon of the lunisolar calendar that is traditional to China and many east Asian countries that are regulated by the cycles of the moon and sun.
Chinese New Year is celebrated by visits to family and friends, special meals, fireworks and gift giving. Each year is named after one of 12 animals that feature in the Chinese zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. This CNY is the Year of the Rabbit.
The rabbit ushers in the fourth year of a 12-year cycle, following the Year of the Tiger. In ancient Chinese culture, legend has it that the Rabbit was proud — arrogant even — of its speed and that it represents the moon due to the shadows of the moon resembling a rabbit.
Chinese people regard people born under the sign of the rabbit to possess traditional values of diligence, dependability, strength and determination. Their quiet personality hides their confidence and strength and ability to always move towards their goals, irrespective of any negativity they experience.
The kind nature and trustworthiness of a rabbit is what sets them apart from the other zodiac animals. Their family, friends and colleagues can always depend on them. Rabbits are popular among their friends because of their reliability and tender-hearted nature. They are excellent at giving advice and would never hesitate to offer help where it is needed.
I look forward to hearing how staff and students celebrated CNY with traditional firecrackers and fireworks, the giving of red envelopes, their family reunion dinner and with many other rituals that prepare them for prosperity, good luck and happiness in the new year.
Yanni Galanis
International Principal, Haileybury International School, Tianjin
