Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival, is arguably the most important festival in Chinese culture, celebrating the start of a new year on the lunar calendar. This year, Chinese students have the rare and unusual opportunity to celebrate at home. This year, the holiday falls on Feb. 12. With a one-week long national holiday, many Chinese people start preparing for the yearly celebration early, as there are countless traditional activities that can be held. However, despite the opportunity this year brings, celebrations are still being modified due to COVID-19 risks.

Most of the celebrations take place on New Year’s Eve, a time for family reunion dinner. The meal often invites all the relatives, and sometimes even neighbors, and lasts for several hours. It is the time of the year when people return home and get together with other family members who they might not have seen for long. Moreover, Chinese food culture penetrates this tradition as well. For instance, a typical dish served is Nian Gao (sweet glutinous rice cake), which has the implication of “having higher achievements each year.”

Another iconic celebration is receiving red packets. “During the dinner, the young will bow to the elderly and receive from them blessings and red envelopes with money inside, symbolizing good luck for the next year,” said Tina Wang ’22.

“It is during Chinese New Year that the entire family get together. We would go around and visit relatives that we don’t normally see. It is just a time that you can truly relax and connect with people you don’t normally see,” said Amber Cao ’21.

During the dinner, the young will bow to the elderly and receive from them blessings and red envelopes with money inside, symbolizing good luck for the next year.

After the dinner, most families watch the Spring Festival Gala, broadcast live by China Central Television. The gala invites popular celebrities of the year, and performances range from songs, dance, skits and magic tricks to martial arts. Because of the tradition of staying up late to welcome the New Year, the gala lasts until after midnight. Some families have other recreational activities, such as Mahjong, with the TV playing the gala in the background. After midnight, lighting off fireworks and firecrackers signals the end of the day’s celebration. The smoke and sounds paint the festive atmosphere. Unfortunately, the Chinese government has prohibited the use of fireworks in urban areas since 2017 to reduce air pollution. People living in these areas have to give up this traditionally integral part of the celebration.

Since Chinese students at Hill usually cannot be at home for the festival, in past years the school has provided many activities to celebrate the Chinese New Year in the Hill family.

Reminiscing on past celebrations, Harry Zhu ’22 said, “I remember having great Chinese food with my friends, watching the CCTV Spring Festival Gala and calling my parents and grandparents in homesickness!”

Last year, the students made Tangyuan, sweet rice dumplings meaning union, at the dining hall and served the school. There was also a trip to Chinatown for the traditional New Year’s meal. Additionally, the Spring Festival Gala was displayed on the screen in the McNally room with Chinese snacks that International Student and Family Support Manager Helen Qiu brought on the side. Many Chinese students and some students curious about Chinese culture came and gathered in groups. While making comments on the gala from time to time, some were playing games, others were finishing up their work, and still others were chatting and reflecting on the past year. The activities and people around created a unique Hill Chinese New Year, allowing the students far from home to still feel the warmth and celebrate their culture.

This year, celebrations at Hill will mostly be online since Chinese students could be at home, in the States, or still in quarantine on New Year’s Eve. As of right now, Qiu and the international prefects are planning to have students record scenes of how they are celebrating the New Year. New ideas are on the way.