－ DVBS Archive Team －

Written by: Rahula Tan (12)

Photos by: Alston Liu (12), Mrs. Lau

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Chinese New Year is a time when the old and the new intermingle and interweave a fabric that both honors tradition and fosters improvements. So was the Boys School’s dormitory Chinese New Year celebration that took place on Tuesday, February 1. In the preceding weekend, Mrs. Lau taught the students to make dumplings, which were used in the celebration.

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The celebration began with the students wishing Mr. Kellerman a happy new year, which is known as ‘bai nian’ (拜年) in Chinese. The students greeted Mr. Kellerman with a cup of tea, and in return, they were given red envelopes, a traditional gift for children or elderly people during Chinese New Year. Then, the students enjoyed the Chinese New Year “Reunion Dinner” (團圓飯) prepared by Mrs. Lau. According to Chinese traditions, the dinner is believed to be the most important part of the festival and the most important meal of the year. The students enjoyed mouthwatering foods such as dumplings, fried noodles, and a fish dish.

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After dinner, the students continued on their usual Lion Dance and Dragon Dance practice for an upcoming performance at Alex Thomas Plaza (which happened on 2/27 and will be posted as soon as possible). Following 90 minutes of intense training, Dharma Master Tsung brought some firecrackers for the students to play with, and it was truly fascinating and captivating to watch!

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February 15 marks the last day of the two-week celebration of Lunar New Year, and is also know as Lantern Festival (元宵節). As a celebration, Mrs. Lau prepared the Malaysian dish “Yusheng” (魚生) for the students. Yusheng literally means “raw fish” but since “fish (魚)” is commonly conflated with its homophone “abundance (余)”, yusheng is interpreted as a homophone for Yúshēng (余升), meaning an increase in abundance. Therefore, yusheng is considered a symbol of abundance, prosperity and vigor. The students “tossed” the yusheng as high they could, wishing for good grades and fortune in the upcoming year of tiger.

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As the year of the tiger begins, we pray that all living beings will turn over a new leaf and be endowed with utmost blessings and prosperity. Wishing everyone peace and auspiciousness in the future years! 祝大家歲歲平安，年年如意！

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Special thanks to Mrs. Lau, who dedicated great effort in making the delicious dinner for the students as well as the teachers. Further thanks to Dharma Master Tsung for providing the amazing fireworks!

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DVBS Archive Team

March 1, 2022