Lower School Celebrates Lunar New Year

It’s the year of the snake! For the third consecutive year, Rising Phoenix visited campus for a Lunar New Year performance. Lower School students enjoyed a joyful, high-energy performance with drums, costumes, gifts and dance. View the slideshow. Rising Phoenix is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving the art of Lion Dancing, a Chinese tradition that is thought to bring good luck and drive away evil spirits. 

“It was such a joy to have the Texas Rising Phoenix Athletic Association back on campus for the third year in a row to lead us in celebrating Lunar New Year,” said Nicole Masole-Rose, Director of Community Engagement and Inclusivity. “This year is the year of the snake. What made this year exceptionally special was watching some of our lower school students explain to their peers the importance of Lunar New Year and introduce our guest performers. We are so grateful.”

The Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year or the Spring Festival, is a significant traditional holiday in many Asian cultures. It marks the beginning of the lunar calendar, which is based on the moon's cycles. The celebration typically lasts about 15 days and culminates in the Lantern Festival.

The lunar calendar consists of 12 months, each corresponding roughly to one complete lunar cycle or lunation. A lunar month lasts approximately 30 days, so a lunar year lasts around 354 days. To align the lunar calendar with the solar year, which lasts about 365 days, leap months are added periodically. This ensures that traditional festivals and holidays, such as the Lunar New Year, occur around the same time each year. 

In addition to months and years, the lunar calendar assigns an animal zodiac sign each year in a repeating 12-year cycle. 2025 is the year of the snake, symbolizing wisdom, spirituality, elegance and renewal.