Lunar New Year Celebrations
This year, both the Korean Lunar New Year (Seollal) and the Chinese Lunar New Year began on February 17, 2026. Both holidays fell right in the middle of Peddie’s Language and Culture Celebration Week. 2026 is the year of the Fire Horse in both cultures, which is associated with intense energy, passion and rapid change.
To celebrate Chinese New Year, students participated in a vibrant lion dance during chapel, a tradition believed to bring in good luck and fortune for the year ahead. Later in the week, the members of the Chinese Culture Club were taught how to make traditional dumplings and parents handed out red envelopes, or hongbao, for the entire Peddie community during lunch.
The Taegeuk (Korean Culture) Club hosted a Seollal Festival celebration where students enjoyed a spread of authentic foods prepared by parents, danced together, competed for prizes and tested their limits in a spirited spicy Buldak ramen eating contest.