“This is a really fun and important time for a lot of members of the community, and I think that when we open that up to everyone, we get to bond and be excited together and learn from one another,” said EASA Co-Leader Momo Yang (‘24), in regards to Bishop’s Lunar New Year celebration.
This year’s celebration of this important and widely celebrated holiday certainly did just that. In honor of the new year, the Year of the Dragon — an animal that traditionally represents power, strength, good luck, and wisdom — Bishop’s certainly went all out, and the community was able to get a taste of how some Asian families in our community celebrate Lunar New Year. On campus festivities were nothing short of spectacular, with four days full of activities like dragon runs, paper-crane folding, chopstick-skittle races, talented performances like traditional Chinese dance and Chinese yoyo — and of course, a wide-variety of delicious foods from from pho, to curry, to a fan favorite, boba.
As Tali Ben-Yehuda (‘25) said, “It’s a really fun experience for everyone to be able to try new things and have new experiences together.”
So, let’s get into some of the highlights from the week.
All throughout the week, the campus was decked out with a variety of Lunar New Year decorations from different cultures. Red decor — for everything from lanterns to dragons — covered Bishops' walls, a color often utilized in East Asian culture to invoke good luck and prosperity. The cafeteria also housed three traditional tables from China, Korea, and Vietnam. All these decorations were the backdrop for a festive and educational week. EASA Co-Leader Kailin Xuan (‘26) mentioned that the Bishop’s celebrations create both an “appreciation among students from various cultural backgrounds” and “a sense of belonging for students and their families who view Lunar New Year as an important holiday.”
On Monday, both Upper and Middle School students got to participate in a “dragon run” in the words of Kailin. They traipsed around the terrace as a group, collectively hoisting up an impressive yellow and golden dragon above their heads as they entertained the community. “Perfect for Year of the Dragon,” Kailin said. Hanna Liang (‘25), who participated in the dragon run, mentioned that she “loved seeing everybody’s reactions to the dance.” She added that “as someone who always watched professional dragon dances growing up, it was super fun being able to actually participate in one.”
During Middle and Upper School lunches, select students took part in a wide variety of performances. “We had a lot of different acts from the Chinese yoyo to all kinds of dance,” said EASA Co-Leader Serena Zhang (‘24). “We [also] had folk storytelling and all types of art,” she added. During Upper School lunch, Ella Xing (’26), Sabrina Li (’24) and Ellen Wang (’25) danced, Kailin Xuan (’26) played the piano, and Thomas Kenney (’26) expertly tossed and fiddled with a Chinese yoyo, receiving many oohs and ahs from the impressed crowd. “A few of my friends performed in the Lunar New Year celebration, so it was awesome to see their various talents in person,” explained Tyler Chang (‘26). He added that he felt “proud” that “they’re getting well deserved recognition.”
Monday’s lunch boasted a delicious array of tasty dishes, such as kimchi pancakes, eggrolls, potstickers, and kimbap. “We had the food sampling where a bunch of parents brought in all types of different little foods where [everyone] can sample each one a little bit,” EAST Co-Leader Carley Chen (‘25) explained. The Bishop’s community was a big fan of all these delicious plates. “It was so cool to see all of the different delicious foods coming together on Monday,” Tali explained
Tuesday’s celebrations were centered around Korean tradition. “We set up a paper crane-folding table [and] some traditional Korean games for people to come play,” Carley explained. One of the games was a sort of “hacky sack that [Koreans] play in the new year,” according to Serena. Sydney Mafong (‘26), who helped one one of the games called ddjaki mentioned that “it was fun watching the more experienced people play” even if “playing against them was definitely humbling.”
Tuesday also featured a Korean folk-dancing troupe who dazzled the crows with their eye-catching clothes, vibrant props, and expert performances. In addition to more traditional songs, the group also danced to Korean mega-hit “Gangnam Style,” which Tali was a fan of. “The ‘Gangnam Style’ performance definitely surprised me, but it was really great to see the mixture of traditional dance with a modern song that everyone knows and can sing along to,” she said.
Thursday had a Thai and Vietnamese focus, serving warm, pleasant Thai yellow curry and pho broth at lunch. “We had a raffle for different Thai pastries, sweets, magnets, fun bags, crafts, and things like that,” Serena said. There were also games on the terrace, such as the infamous Skittles chopstick race game, where students and teachers competed against each other to see who could pick up the most Skittles in an allotted time. Audrey Lin (‘25), who helped run the game this year mentioned that “it was so fun seeing everyone get so competitive.” She loved the fact that she recognized many familiar faces from last year’s competition, who had returned “just to try and beat their friends again.”
On Friday, students rushed out of their classes right before lunch, racing over to the terrace to try and snag some milk tea with boba or fruit tea with jelly. The fact that there was enough for everyone didn’t stop the air of excitement and slight anxiousness for everyone to get their hands on this sweet, tasty, and immensely popular drink. As Serena put it, “Everyone gets so hyped about it!” Hanna, an avid boba drinker, mentioned that it makes her happy that it’s such “a huge hit at Bishop’s.”
And at last, “Friday is the big finish for the week,” Serena explained, when the lion dance troupe comes to campus. “[I love when the] dance troupes come and get to share their art with everybody and interact with the audience,” she added. Lion dancing is an important and special ritual in Chinese tradition, believed to rid a space from evil spirits and bring good luck. “That’s probably my favorite part of the whole week because feeding them the red envelopes is very fun [and symbolizes good fortune],” Momo added.
