CNY!

The half-term holiday began with a bang as Sha Tin College celebrated the beginning of the Chinese New Year on Thursday 26 January with a series of festive events, which included music, dances, traditional food, calligraphy, and a trio of games.

The celebrations started off with the three games, which took place mid-way through the school day on the basketball courts. The participants, consisting of both students and teachers, took part in the traditional “Jianzi-Foot Shuttlecock” competition in a bid to keep a heavily-weighted shuttlecock in the air using all body parts except for their hands. They also attempted playing with the “Kendama”, a classic cup-and-ball toy which is hugely popular across the young adult generation, and “The Bottle-flip challenge”, which was borne from a more modern international trend. Contributing towards the festivities, an endless array of traditional Chinese food was laid out next to the cafe whilst these events took place.

Year 6 students perform tricks using diabolos at the basketball court.

Groups of up to 10 students and teachers were put into teams to play competitively in front of the multitude of spectators from different year groups who gathered at the basketball court. The games were then followed by a performance by the traditional Chinese Folk Dance group and choir. The dance was extremely breathtaking and captivated the audience. “To me, Chinese Dance is an elegant art form,” says Jennifer Yu of 12G2, one of the dancers, “allowing me to experience, and thus understand a culture that I don’t encounter on a daily basis. Performing for others allows me to realise that not only do I dance for myself, but even more so, I dance so that others may also be able to appreciate this expression of art.”

The winners of the events were rewarded with a small bouquet of pink flowers, and everyone went home with red packets containing candy and prosperous fortunes for their studies.

Daniel Rothwell 12D1