Have you ever thought of spending Christmas in another country?  In fact, the Chinese New Year is like Christmas for many Asian countries–celebrating with families and preparing for a brand new year.  During this special time of the year, Montrose School organized a special Chinese New Year lunch for the whole school which was fun for all, especially for the international students from China here.

With all kinds of delicious Chinese food and red decorations in Founder’s Hall, Montrose students who were welcomed to the small, special celebration.  The most different thing there was that The Chinese New Year Gala was playing while students were enjoying Chinese food.  The Chinese New Year Gala is a traditional TV Show that every Chinese would watch with their families on New Year’s Eve.  

Mrs. Gorry, the Montrose School International Students Coordinator, said that it would be a nice to have the Chinese students celebrate New Year in this way at school.  The Chinese New Year is what they miss the most when they are away from home.  Brenda Wan ‘20 said, “I miss home the most during Chinese New Year because I used to spend time with my family together.  The lunch reminded me of home because there were a lot of people here to eat, drink and watch the gala together.”  

The American students enjoyed the celebration of Chinese New Year too.  They thought it was interesting to try the authentic Chinese food and watch the Gala.  Alex Rider ‘18 said, “I have a Chinese exchange student at home, so I was always wondering about the real celebration.  It was like a mini celebration, and I kind of got a more specific sense of Chinese New Year.”

Overall, the Chinese students felt more or less at home at this special celebration with the food, decorations and TV shows.  It was also fascinating to bring a vital part of Chinese culture to Montrose.