The seventh grade girls performed a fan dance for the Chinese New Year celebration choreographed by Suzie Wu, school counselor. The dancers include Olivia Knox, Sylvia Knox, Jadey Radford, Kaitlyn Zimmerman, Libby Owens and Wu. (Rachel Harper/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

Orearville seventh- and eighth-grade students spent Thursday, Feb. 7, teaching Hardeman, Miami and Orearville students about Chinese New Year through assemblies at the three schools.

"Our music theme this year is 'Celebrate Music Around the World,'" said Margaret McCampbell, music teacher. "We focus on a different part of the world every month learning songs, dances and some language."

China was established Oct. 1, 1949. China is the third largest country in size in the world. It has a population of over 1.3 billion people making it the world's largest and most populous country. The country is divided into 23 provinces.

Suzie Wu, school counselor, serves up Cantonese noodles as Scott Mullins and Jacob Haulcy hand out cups and chopsticks to assembly participants. (Rachel Harper/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge]

The Chinese New Year takes place between Jan. 21 and Feb. 20. The exact date changes from year to year because it is set by a lunar calendar. Each month begins with a new moon.

"For our grandparents program in September, each class did a dance from a different country," McCampbell said. "The seventh and eighth graders performed a Dragon Dance."

The New Year's preparation goes on for several days before the festival starts. Some beliefs the Chinese associate with the new year are that all debts should be paid and arguments resolved. Also, kitchens are extra clean and cabinets are filled with rice to insure the family will not go hungry through the next year.

For entertainment and educational purposes, the girls from seventh grade performed a fan dance and the boys from both grades did the dragon dance.

Fan dancing is an oriental art that features gracefulness and poise. Both dragon and lion dances are performed at any festive occasion in China. For the lion dance, only two people are needed, but the dragon is much longer.

"We put the dragon together in three class periods," McCampbell said. "Afterwards, I challenged them to redo the dragon, research Chinese New Year and present an assembly to our school."

The students did rise to the challenge from McCampbell's standpoint.

"Then why not offer it to other schools?" she asked herself after the students worked hard to prepare the educational experience for their schoolmates.

The main religion of China is Buddhism. Many of the customs of the Chinese New Year are based around their belief that spirits of their ancestors must be provided for. Food is set out for a while before the meal to allow the spirits to be fed first.

Firecrackers are set off to frighten off the evil spirits that are thought to be around at this time of the year.

The audience at the assemblies also had the pleasure of learning some Chinese in two different dialects, Mandarin and Soochau. Mandarin Chinese is the official language, but there are 16 other dialects.

McCampbell lived in Taiwan for two years and speaks some Mandarin Chinese. Suzie Wu, school counselor, was born in Canton, China, and came to the United States when she was 7 years old. She speaks her native language of Soochau.

During the New Year, Chinese children are given gifts of money in red and gold envelopes. It is called "lucky money." Envelopes are sometimes put beneath the child's pillow on the night before.

"We take our lifestyle in America for granted," McCampbell said. "It's important to study how other cultures sing, dance, eat and speak."

The Chinese zodiac follows a 12-year cycle and each year is named after an animal. Some Chinese believe people born under the sign of a certain animal will exhibit that animal's characteristics.

"They each had an area of Chinese culture to study and were responsible for the input in that area," McCampbell said. "They had to work together for the dances and setting up and tearing down. It was a great experience."

Bright decorations are put up for the Chinese New Year. Red is the main color and banners are everywhere wishing "Happy New Year" and other blessings.

Each person at the assembly got a chance to make a banner, try Cantonese noodles and look at different treasures brought from China.

Some items included items made from special materials like bamboo. The junk (a ship) was made from the horn of a water buffalo.

"The $10,000 bill really made their eyes bug out until we told them it was fake money to be burned for the ancestors," McCampbell said.

This was really a cross-curriculum project including science, music, dance, art, geography and diction.

McCampbell said Wu explained her native culture to the students and designed the fan dance, as well as being chef for the noodles. Diana Dickey, art teacher, redesigned the dragon, built the Buddha head, sewed costumes and other important pieces to bring the assembly together. McCampbell organized the event and directed the music and dragon dance.

"It was wonderful working with these teachers," she said. McCampbell explained the assembly was a lot of work, but definitely rewarding.

After a day full of three assemblies at local elementary schools, the students were awarded with a trip to the Panda Buffet for lunch.

"The kids wanted to do their dances for the staff," McCampbell said. "They loved it! The waiter ran for his camera and videotaped us! We definitely brought them a bonus for Chinese New Year."

Contact Rachel Harper at marshallcity@socket.net