This is the Year of the Rooster, the tenth animal in the cycle. People born in the Year of the Rooster are characterised as honest, energetic, intelligent, flexible and confident with famous people born under the rooster sign including Rudyard Kipling, Prince Philip, Dolly Parton, Michelle Pfeiffer, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Eric Clapton and Yoko Ono.
On Saturday evening, a special dinner was held at Dean Close School to celebrate Chinese New Year and to welcome in the Rooster. Pupils from China and Hong Kong, Korea and Thailand enjoyed a delicious supper of Peking Duck pancakes, a variety of dim sum and even banana fritters for dessert, all skilfully prepared by the School’s talented catering team. There was a wonderful atmosphere in the dining hall which had been decked out with authentic Chinese lanterns and decorations. Upper Sixth Former, Eric, who has been at Dean Close since Year 8, gave a confident and entertaining speech in both Mandarin and English to toast the season and wish the diners health, wealth and happiness for the New Year.
Furthermore, Lower Sixth Former, Alex, shared an impressive piece of Chinese calligraphy; a traditional poem called Thousand Word Classic, which he hand-painted in old Chinese lettering onto a 32 metre-long scroll. The poem contains one thousand characters, of which each character is different. The Poem can be divided in four parts focusing on the formation of the world and creation; the self-cultivation of the human race; politics, literature and the epic war; and ending with a description of Pastoralism, praising those willing to serve their country without any rewards.
The final part of the celebrations came on Monday lunchtime when the whole school enjoyed the opportunity to come together and celebrate this important festival with a Chinese menu for lunch.