By Alex Wang ’22

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This Monday on January 27th, Strake Jesuit had its annual Chinese New Year Celebration at the Parsley Center during third period. There was the revealing of the new Matteo Ricci Statue right outside of the STEM Building, and Father Jeff Johnson, President of Strake Jesuit, gave a speech and blessed the statue. The Mandarin 3 class performed the lion dances in front of the statue and then proceeded on to the Parsley center.

After the performance, Ms. Meyer and her AP Mandarin class performed a play called “Journey to the West,” about a monkey king who travels along with a unique group of friends. It was quite an exquisite play with lots of flair and fun in it.

Following the play, the much anticipated food was served for all students and parents participating in the celebration. There were dumplings, rice, orange chicken, and many other tasty Chinese dishes. The lion dancers followed up with one final performance for everyone and then 4th period started, so students returned to their classes.

Overall, the Chinese New Year Celebration was a success, with the unveiling of the Matteo Ricci statue and fun for everyone. Both the Asian Culture Club and the Mandarin classes helped organize this event and they did a spectacular job given the little time that was given to prepare. All in all, the Chinese New Year Celebration commemorated the memory of Matteo Ricci as a pioneer to the East and was a time for many of the students to gather, socialize, and eat!