Language

Celebrating Chinese New Year at Box Hill High School

As 2020 ends and Chinese communities around the world welcomed the Year of the Ox, we celebrated Chinese New Year at Box Hill High School through a variety of classroom activities. This helped our students to become little experts of the culture. 

Understanding the Festival 

Most Junior students watched videos about the legend of 'Nian', the original reason why Chinese people have been celebrating this festival for thousands of years. They also learnt about how people prepared and celebrated “春(chūn)节(jié)”, such as cleaning up, shopping, decorating the houses with red couplets and giving red pockets with money inside to the kids. Students also watched the story of 'the Great Race', which is about the Chinese animal zodiac.  

Hands-on Activities to Learn the Culture 

Many Junior students had opportunities to role-play new year greetings and getting the red pockets (hong bao) that had copies of Chinese currency inside. They listened to New Year songs and watched a few performances from the Chinese New Year Gala, getting a taste of how people celebrate this festival in China. Some students even created their own ornaments for Chinese New Year decorations, like paper flowers, hong bao and banners. Classrooms were filled with their laughter, “Xin Nian Hao” (Happy New Year) and decorations during the festival. 

Comparison of the Cultures 

Year 10 Chinese students researched and compared Chinese New Year with an Australian festival - Christmas. They demonstrated their intercultural understanding by comparing the legends of Nian and Jesus, as well as the traditional foods of the two cultures. Many students also researched about why Chinese use red while Australians like red and green for the festival decorations. 

Our students have gained knowledge of the festival more than an annual celebration thanks to our awesome Language Department.  

 - Yumin Zeng (article) and Tom Chen (photos)