On January 30, Iris Zhang’s Mandarin Chinese students at Maple School had the rare opportunity of collaborating with their high school counterparts, who take the same language at Glenbrook North High School with teacher Wanyin Chou. They were celebrating the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rat.
Although this creature is not usually a cuddly favorite animal amongst human populations, the kids were having a great time making rats, dragon masks, and lanterns out of construction paper to celebrate the New Year. Ms. Chou and a few students even wore traditional brightly-colored silk Chinese jackets or tunics. Everyone enjoyed each other’s company, practiced their Chinese, and sang a traditional song before the high schoolers went back to school.
The Chinese zodiac consists of 12 animals repeating a 12-year cycle. It rotates through Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Each 12-year cycle starts with a year of the Rat.
However, it’s actually a zodiac-element cycle since there are also five elements that are used in turn: Wood, fire, earth, gold (metal) and water—which creates a 60-year cycle. Consequently, this Year of the Rat is actually the Year of the Gold (metal) Rat.
The Chinese New Year is a lunar festival, and begins with the New Moon, so it started on January 25, 2020 and ends on February 11, 2021 on the date of that New Moon. In 2021, the Chinese New Year will be the year of the ox.
The festival itself is two weeks long, and ends with a lantern festival on the date of the next full moon, February 9, 2020. At the end of class, Ms. Zhang’s room most definitely had the celebratory atmosphere of the Chinese New Year.
Ms. Zhang is also a co-sponsor of the Student Council and the teacher for the International Club, where students have the opportunity to learn about cultures from around the world. They participate in arts, crafts, cooking, games, world trivia, and celebrate holidays with hands-on activities!
