Students Ring In Lunar New Year With Colorful Cultural Celebration

Every year Overlake’s Lunar New Year celebration is a big highlight. It’s a chance for students to celebrate their culture, but it’s also a chance for everyone on campus to learn more about the Chinese traditions and celebrations. Throughout the week long celebration, the East Asian & Pacific Islander Affinity group hosted a wide range of events each day to share more about the celebration. 

The week started out with a bang as Overlake hosted a traditional Lion Dance in the Fulton theater! With colorful costumes and triumphant loud drums, each division was treated to a special dance from talented guest performers. It set the tone for a fun, educational, and celebratory week. 

On some of the more serene days, the EAPI group hosted a tea appreciation experience using a panda-decorated gongfu tea set and served Pu’er tea, a traditional Chinese fermented tea from Yunnan province. Senior Dianyi Y. also shared her calligraphy skills teaching calligraphy or creating ornate bookmarks for students with anything from the character “福” (good fortune), their own names, or phrases like “未来可期” (a promising future) and “幸福” (happiness). 

Creating a peaceful atmosphere to accompany the tea and calligraphy were two students playing the guzheng, a traditional Chinese plucked zither with over 2,000 years of history. They performed both a traditional Chinese-style piece Qing Hua Ci (“Blue and White Porcelain”) alongside a more modern piece, Always With Me from Spirited Away. More quiet experiences for the week included classic strategy games like Mahjong and Go (Weiqi).

The week rounded out with a crowd favorite, Tanghulu-freshly made fruit skewers dipped in a crisp sugar glaze. The perfect mixture of tart fruit with a hard sugar crunch. The traditional treat symbolizes celebration and good fortune. Meanwhile a sugar painting demonstration showcased this traditional folk art making decorative pieces out of sugar. All in all, it was a sweet celebration! Thank you to the EAPI affinity group for hosting such a great celebration for the Overlake community.