Bangor High School students taking Chinese language classes and Humanities Academy students celebrated Chinese New Year through an in-school field trip.

“It’s important for our world language students to not just study the language, but to also experience the culture,” said Chinese teacher and Department Co-Chair Lily Crane.

The in-school field trip gave students the opportunity to play Chinese games including Go, Chinese checkers, and Mah Jong, hone their Chinese character writing skills, practice the art of Chinese paper cutting and folding (similar to Japanese Origami), and taste authentic noodle, rice, tofu, and chicken dishes made by Ms. Crane.  Students also learned the Lion Dance, taught by Steve Wang, a BHS alumnus and owner of the Creative Arts Center in Brewer.

Ms. Crane showed a video about the holiday and explained to students how significant Chinese New Year is in China’s culture. “Everyone in China, no matter where they currently live, travels back home for Chinese New Year,” she explains. “It’s a time of mass pilgrimage.”

Approximately 30 students in Chinese 1-4 participated in Chinese New Year, along with 12 students in the Humanities Academy who had just completed a unit about Asia.

The Bangor High School World Languages Department offers Chinese, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language classes.