By Susan Wang

Chinese-American students and families celebrated the Year of the Rabbit at the annual Chinese New Year luncheon held by the Harvard-Westlake Chinese Cultural Club at the Olympic Collection Jan. 30. 

Events included a reading of a cultural story about a jade rabbit and many Chinese festivities, such as dragon dancing, red pocket-giving and singing in Chinese. 

The Harvard-Westlake Lion Dance troupe consisting of ninth and tenth grade students donned red t-shirts and gold-sequined pants to act as the legs of two lions. The students performed various tricks in costume, such as jumping and tail-wagging. 

Head of School Jeanne Huybrechts fed red pockets to the lions. Red pockets are envelopes with money inside traditionally given to children by their parents and adults on Chinese New Year.

Students of the Chinese I, II and III classes also sang and performed skits. Songs expressed traditional Chinese themes, such as respect for parents, love for friends and having hope for the future. Chinese III students performed a skit about Chinese sayings regarding rabbits. 

Chinese II students from the middle school put on a fashion show, as well. Students modeled multi-colored t-shirts with pictures and symbols they had designed, with each student explaining the significance of his design.

Over 300 faculty, parents and students attended the event, according to Caroline Wang, parent and organizer of the luncheon. 

“I really liked this year’s event,” said Tiffany Liao ’12. “It was really entertaining and the food was yummy.”