To celebrate the start of Lunar New Year and 2026 as the Year of the Horse, students in all divisions enjoyed a special assembly from Lina Liu Artist Group. The performance from the Guinness-World-Record performers celebrated the Year of the Horse through a traditional Chinese Lion Dance and acrobatics including spinning plates, umbrella juggling, Chinese yo-yo, and a ribbon dance. Additionally, students were especially engaged by the Sichuan Opera performance.

In between the theatrical numbers, Ms. Liu explained that Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, is a major 15-day celebration starting on the first new moon of the lunisolar calendar. The holiday welcomes spring and a new animal zodiac cycle (with 2026 being the Year of the Horse), and it is celebrated across East and Southeast Asia. Popular Lunar New Year traditions include red decorations, family reunions, and fireworks to ensure luck and prosperity.

At the Upper School performance, students in Ms. Shang’s Chinese 1, 2 and 3 language classes sang an a cappella Happy New Year song. Ms. Shang’s students also celebrated the Spring Festival in class, exploring how cultural values are expressed through lived practices and artistic traditions. Students examined the deep integration of the horse in Chinese culture across painting, music, dance, opera, and ceramics, considering how movement, strength, and endurance are represented symbolically. They then connected these to Spring Festival traditions, including 春运 (the Spring Festival travel rush), the annual mass journey home for family reunions. Alongside these enduring practices, students also encountered contemporary celebrations featuring panda cubs and humanoid robots, illustrating how tradition continues to evolve with technology while preserving core values of kinship, perseverance, and belonging.

Following the Upper and Middle School assemblies, members of the Parents Association handed out mandarin oranges, a symbol of good luck and fortune, and red envelopes with a custom Year of the Horse bookmark. 

Middle School students in Ms. Huang’s classes visited Mr. Dunn, Mr. Vineyard, and several other teachers and administrators to offer “Bai Nian” (拜年), or traditional Lunar New Year greetings usually given to relatives, elders, teachers, and friends. “In our school setting, greeting teachers and administrators is a way for students to show respect and share New Year blessings,” shared Ms. Huang.

Ms. Huang’s students also painted horses in traditional Chinese style to celebrate Lunar New Year and selected an idiom that includes the word “horse” to match their artwork. 

Upon returning from the long weekend, celebrations continued throughout RCDS. Informational bulletin boards and decorations adorned the halls of the Upper, Middle, and Lower School. The Upper School Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Club (APIDA) organized an origami lantern making activity in advisory to honor the Year of the Horse.