The library provided a grand setting, decorated with silk lanterns while traditional chinese er-hu music played in the background. Parent volunteers led activities related to New Year customs found in China and Korea, giving students a glimpse of the cultural meanings that form these East Asian traditions and allowing students to create their own unique expressions.

Students designed Korean folding screens decorated with the Ten Symbols of Longevity and Happiness. These Symbols are part of the animism-based (“nature worship”) folklore and myth of Korean culture. Once decorated, the elegant folding screens are exchanged as gifts, wishing the recipient, long life and happiness in the coming new year. Third grader Hailey Long said that she really liked learning about the ten famous Chinese symbols.

With the help of a template, calligraphy brushes, and black ink, students created the Chinese symbol, “Fu.” Buzz Thompson, who is fluent in Mandarin, explained that each Chinese character has profound meanings and associations.In this instance, by  displaying the “Fu” character upside down it literally means “to arrive” (pronounced “Dao-le”), rendering its symbolic meaning as  “Good Fortune has arrived.” The children’s “Fu” panels can be found in the hallway leading up to the second floor classrooms, to augur good luck to all students at SFDS.