Written by Suha Choi’22
From Christmas, Winter Solstice, Hannukah, to Lunar New Year, the list of holidays go on and on during this cold time of the year. As many people say, “Tis the season!” Holidays often come in different forms, different religions, and different backgrounds. Everyone marks different days on their calendars.
“Passover has always been my favorite Jewish holiday. For me, Passover is a time when I am with my family and get to remember my ancestors and all the hardships they endured. When I was younger, I looked forward to the holiday because when we discussed the 10 plagues, we had little toys that symbolize each one. After I sat down, I would eagerly wait until that portion of our seder, and then proceed to try my hardest to land the toy frogs (one of the plagues) into my dad’s drink. As I have gotten older, I have come to enjoy this holiday more than the others because it gives me time to reflect. I reflect on my own culture and am reminded of my family’s values. It gives me the opportunity to discuss both topics with my family, but most importantly, it is their presence and the smiles we all share that make Passover my favorite holiday.”
- Jocelyn Cote’22
(co-leader of J-team, Jewish affinity group)
“My favorite religious holiday is Easter, and particularly the Easter Vigil service, which comes the night before Easter. The service is long, and it starts in the dark and is very somber, because at this point in the story we are still mourning the crucifixion of Jesus. But about halfway in, the Bible passage is related where the women go to the tomb and find out that Jesus has risen from the dead. Then the lights come up, tons of flowers are brought out of hiding, everybody rings bells loudly (we all brought them to church with us), the organ and the brass unfold its sounds, and we all sing songs of victory and joy at the top of our lungs. Love has triumphed over Death! At college, right after the Easter Vigil service, I ran over to my boyfriend's room and left him a basket full of chocolates, because he had given them up for Lent and I wanted him to find them in the morning. And later he became my husband, and we left trails of chocolates and jelly beans for our children to follow Easter morning when they woke up, leading from their beds to their hidden Easter Baskets. It's a seriously joyous time!”
- Rev Barbara Talcott
(Head Chaplain and Religion Department Faculty)
“This year in 2020, the Lunar New Year begins on January 25 and marks the beginning of the year of the rat. The Lunar New Year, also called the Spring Festival, is a celebration that begins from the first new moon to the first full moon of the lunar calendar, which is 15 days later. The Lunar New Year is celebrated in several East/South East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is a time for family celebrations, including religious ceremonies honoring ancestors, giving and receiving red packets containing money, and watching dances and fireworks.
ASA traditionally hosts a Lunar New Year dinner every year to celebrate this special event, and every year the festivities get larger and more elaborate. We began celebrations on Wednesday, January 22 with a professional lion dance performance during school meetings and decorated the Small Dining Hall and main hallway with red lanterns, red packets, and Chinese calligraphy with the help of several SM students. On Thursday night, ASA hosted its largest dinner with over 100 attendees from ASA, the faculty and staff, parents, and Chilean students. The dinner consisted of specially-made Chinese food courtesy of Flik, student-led performances, a video of SM parents saying good wishes to their kids, and a raffle. On Friday night we held a movie screening of The Farewell. Saturday marked the official start of the Lunar New Year, so during the school meeting, the Chinese IV and V class said good-wishes, the ASA held a round of jianzi for SM students to play, and the faculty helped distribute red packets with chocolate coins to everyone. ASA ended the week with various Lunar New Year related weekend-activities such as providing Asian snacks and dumpling-making.
As a co-head of ASA and as an Asian American, the Lunar New Year festival is special to me because it is a time where I really delve into my Chinese identity and celebrate traditions that my parents celebrated when they were in China. The Lunar New Year celebration at St. Mark’s allows Asians from different ethnicities and cultures to come together and celebrate the beginning of a new lunar year. There’s joy, laughter, and music. There’s happiness, contentment, and peace. The Lunar New Year is special to me because it’s the time when ASA truly becomes a family away from home. It’s an amazing experience that I’m eternally grateful to have had in my St. Mark’s career.”
- Helen Huang ‘20
(Co-leader of Asian Students Alliance group)