By Jing Zhao Cesarone
CHICAGO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Stepping into Chicago's Little Linguists Academy on Sunday was like leaping across continents.
Chicago or China? Who could tell, as dozens of young guests, bedecked in traditional Chinese clothing, laughed and ran through the beautifully transformed classroom, adorned Chinese festival style with loud noises, dazzling decorations and delicious dumplings, for a total immersion in the Chinese New Year culture.
"Once upon a time in a far away village in China, there was a beast called Nian who ate livestock on the last day of the Year ... " Thus began the magic, as Angel Li, founder of the north side language school, kicked off the New Year party with a story from the classic Chinese legend of "Guonian," which literally means to "pass over Nian."
Although the kids were more curious than scared by the stuffed little beast, Li brought out a Chinese wise man riding on a bright red dragon who successfully drove away the evil creature. "Since then it has become a tradition that part of the New Year celebration is to hang lots of red decorations around the house and dress in red," Li explained. Both kids and parents were captivated by the interesting tale of Chinese New Year.
Lion dancing is always a must-have for a traditional Chinese New Year celebration. Usually, only adults perform the lion dance, but on this special New Year celebration the kids got their turn to don the colorful lion costume and perform the fanciful lion dance themselves.
Other Chinese New Year traditions, such as cash-filled red pockets and firecrackers, lit up the room with excitement. Filled with anticipation, the children lined up to receive their red pockets stuffed with red candy, and to recite the Chinese New Year greeting "Xin Nian Kuai Le, Gong Xi Fa Cai," meaning, "Happy New Year, may prosperity be with you!"
According to the Chinese Zodiac, the year 2010 is the Year of the Tiger, and the partygoers roared with delight as an animated Li waved the stuffed animal tiger. Nearly 50 kids, from various ethnic backrounds, sang the popular Chinese nursery rhyme "Two Tigers, Two Tigers" bringing smiles and laughs to their amused parents.
Throughout the celebration, the families not only enjoyed the fun-filled activities, but also learned quite a few Chinese words. Krista Lee, a 6-year-old kindergartner, volunteered to sit by Li as her assistant to help lead the Chinese rhyme singing. She said with a proud smile: "I knew most of the songs we were singing today! I love Chinese culture. It is so much fun to learn Chinese. "
Li, who started Little Linguists Academy about five years ago, said: "Chinese New Year provides us with a great opportunity to teach children the Chinese culture in a fun and innovative way."
Li has rich experience teaching Chinese to kids and her school teaches kids Chinese from as young as 12 months. She said: "Teaching Chinese is not just about the language, but more importantly it is about the love of the culture. As you can see, we are cultivating the kid's love of the Chinese language and culture as well. When they have fun, kids want to learn and that is the best way to teach!"
Ying Zhan, the organizer of the event and also the co-chair of the Asian Support Group at Neighborhood Parents Network of Chicago (NPN), was having a wonderful time with her daughter Olivia. She told Xinhua: "We have about 25 families attending today's event. This is the biggest turnout we ever had. Everybody had a great time, especially kids! Angel prepared a big banquet for us. This is very encouraging for us to help our kids learn more Chinese language and culture."
Jennifer Uson is the Co-Chair of the Asian Support Group of NPN and also helped organize the New Year celebration. She said that NPN is the largest organized parent resource network in the city of Chicago and its Asia group reflects a diversity of families with Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Filipino, and Indian heritage. "The Asian Group at NPN is a social group and we meet once a month to play, talk and socialize," she added.
The 2010 Chinese New Year Day was February 14, 2010 in China's time zone. The Chinese New Year is a two week spring festival that has been celebrated for more than 5,000 years in China. The day of the Lunar New Year is the most important holiday of the year for the Chinese community in Chicago, celebrated with colorful festivals, parades, and most importantly, large family gatherings.
