With wishes for prosperity and good fortune, the SJS community came together on February 17 to celebrate the Year of the Fire Horse, along with lunar celebrations from around the world in this year’s Lunar New Year assembly.
MCs Mr. Ferguson and Harry, Grade 11, started off the assembly by talking about the lunar cycle that informs many celebrations around the world, and the focus of this year’s assembly on traditions close to home: Nowruz, Hoobiyee and Lunar New Year.
Victoria and Roshanna, Grade 4, taught us about Nowruz, which celebrates the first day of spring in Persian culture. The girls shared the tradition of the Haft-Sin, a dinner that features seven symbolic items to mark the occasion, and the parts of the celebration they love the most.
Harry and Mr. Ferguson talked about Hoobiyee from the Nisga’a peoples from Northern BC, which happens to fall on Lunar New Year this year. Hoobiyee is a lunar event that marks the start of a new harvesting season that is deeply intertwined with the return of the eulachon, an oily fish and important food source following the sparsity of winter.
Jasper, Grade 5, talked about the Chinese poetic tradition of Chunlian to bring good fortune, health and prosperity to the new year. He introduced a video featuring students across Junior and Senior School working on Chunlian to welcome in the new year.
An Extra Special Touch
The Grade 3 Mandarin class kept up a SJS tradition by performing “Gong Xi Gong Xi,” accompanied by vocalists Jazmyn and Cecie in Grade 12. The assembly also featured a performance by SJS Strings of “The Peace Beyond,” by composer Christopher Nichols, featuring Hanson, Grade 9, on the clarinet and Erica, Grade 10, on the oboe.
The assembly concluded with a Lion Dance from Master Ken Low and his team. The performance filled the gym with cheers and giggles as the students interacted with the lions to the accompaniment of drums, gongs and cymbals. Four Grade 3 students also had the chance to get into the costumes themselves and danced around the gym as little(r) lions.
After the assembly the parents and guardians in attendance were invited to attend a morning tea, hosted by the Parent Association. The beautifully-decorated atrium was abuzz with conversation as adults enjoyed a selection of teas and sweets from various countries where Lunar New Year is celebrated. There were also two special cultural activities organized by the PA: a sugar painting station that hand-crafted beautiful pieces of confectionery art, and a calligraphy and red decor station for parents to take home artwork of their own.
New Year Gratitude
Thank you to Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Deans, Ms. Qiang, Ms. Wei, Ms. Zhu, Stagecraft, Master Low and his team, and our student presenters and performers, for creating a memorable assembly. We appreciate all the parents and guardians who joined us for this event.
An extra special thank you to our Parent Association Executive for the wonderful tea and activities, and the volunteers and who helped make this beautiful event possible. Thank you to the families who donated gifts in kind to elevate the event. View the Volunteer Wall.
