The Year of the Dragon is a well told year of luck and exciting advantages that go on throughout the year. The dragon is the animal represented as a celestial and divine creature who can control the natural elements such as wind and water.
On Friday, February 8th, students in the Chinese class will be placing Year of the Dragon signs on teachers’ front doors of their classrooms for display.
Sereana Powers who is the teacher for the Chinese class says, “Students get to learn the culture, and grab another perspective and learn from it.”
Powers’ students also make red lanterns for good luck and put them in south campus’ library for display.
To cheer for the lunar year, there is a spreadsheet of teachers’ names who want a dragon sign.
The celebration of the lunar year is a hopeful transition from the cold winter to the season of renewal. It is a largely secular holiday but includes cultural rituals that derive from Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, as well as from ancient myths and folk traditions.
Teachers’ requirements for a dragon sign must include their last name, their classroom number, and a nice thank you note for the students who make them.
Senior Sealina Delapaz says “ I have not noticed any but I think that they are a really cool idea.”
According to Chineasy.com “Dragons in Chinese culture symbolize great power, good luck and strength. They represent power and authority, particularly control over typhoons, water, rainfall and floods. Emperors were assumed to have descended from the dragons. That is why, out of the twelve zodiac signs, the Dragon is the most popular one.”
