Greystones Educate Together celebrates the Chinese New Year in style.

On Monday the 15^th of February our Chinese New Year celebration kicked off in the Wicklow room as Aoife’s class presented their version of “The Willow Pattern”.  This was followed by a traditional  Lion Dance performed by the Irish Chinese Chu Chung Lung Ying Academy.

Lion Dance to Celebrate Chinese New Year

The courtyard was surrounded by children, parents and teachers from both Greystones Educate Together and Gaelscoil Na Clocha Liatha as well as local councillors Derek Mitchell, George Jones and current mayor of Greystones, Chris Maloney.  The Lion Dance was performed by two kung-fu athletes as the head and tail of the “Lion” respectively, and three musicians with drums, gong and cymbals. The children were delighted with the traditional dance which lasted about 15 minutes in which the Lion pranced around, rose to its and rose to its hind legs.  Towards the end of the performance the lion mimicked eating a head of cabbage and spitting it out which is a traditional sign of luck.  Evan Furlong prepared traditional Chinese New Year’s snacks of fried rice cakes and mandarin oranges for the spectators and tea was served upstairs in the parent’s room.

The New Year celebration continues on the 16^th and 17^th.  Catherine and Naomi’s classes will each perform versions of “The Willow Pattern”, a love story from China. Connor and Edel’s Junior Infant classes will perform the “Beijing Dance”, a gentle little dance performed to the music of a well-known song about Beijing.

The children have been learning about the art, culture and history of China over the past month.  They have created several displays inspired by China which can be seen in the hallways and the Wicklow room.  The Taiwanese Embassy has generously loaned the school a small exhibition of Chinese artefacts which can be viewed in the library.

History of The Lion Dance
The legend says “Nian” was a fierce monster that especially liked kidnapping children. He terrorized villages year after year. Finally, one year, a lion defeated and chased the monster away. Nian vowed to return next year. This time the villagers did not have a lion to protect themselves. So, they solved the problem by creating a costume likeness of a lion and two villagers used it to scare Nian away. This is the reason the lion dance is performed every Chinese New Year.

Legend also says that loud noises from the drum, other instruments, and firecrackers helped scare Nian away. Red is worn during the New Year celebration because it was also believed that Nian was afraid of the colour red. The word “Nian,” thought the yearly ceremony, has become the Chinese word for year.

Another origin of the lion dance is that an emperor of the Tang Dynasty had a dream in which a strange creature saved his life. When he woke, he described his dream. His advisors said the creature he described resembled the lion, a creature from the West. The emperor commissioned the lion dance in honour of the creature that saved his life.