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Chinese New
Year Morning Celebration 2008
The day
was Wednesday, 13th of February 2008,
the Roman equivalent of the seventh day of the Lunar
calendar. This day usually calls for a celebration.
Thus, one was held in
the ample spaces of SMJK Yu Hua’s main hall.
The event was hosted and kick-started by Madam Chuah.
By 7:40, drums and cymbals could be heard as the
school’s Lion Dance Troupe began their festive
ritual of welcoming the guests-of-honour. The
Northern-style Lion Dance Troupe showed off their
pair of gold-furred lion costumes, each controlled
by two members under a
magnificent gold sheet. They went onto the stage
from separate stairs in opposite directions, and in a perfect symmetry.
A pomelo
fruit was placed centre-stage to
setup the scene of a Chinese New Year ceremony.
Mandarin oranges encircled the pomelo
fruit. The ritual involved the process of the lions
peeling the mandarin oranges and presenting them to
their masters. The accompanying instrumental band
upped the tempo, lending tension to the atmosphere while
the lions went into a trance-like state, peeling the
oranges & the pomelos with their heads bowed, touching the stage floor.
After a couple of minutes,
they reared up their heads and presented the peeled
mandarin oranges to the Chairperson of the
Parents-Teachers’ Association, Mr. Tan Keat Sing.
The pair of lions continued their ritual by
encircling each other in what appeared to be a
courtship dance. As the instrumental band kicked-up
the tempo a notch, the fluorescent lights were dimmed
to add to the atmosphere. In a climactic
closure, the pomelo was handed to the
Chairperson. The pair of bright, golden,
mythical creature made a fantastic
retreat, executing deft & dangerous stunts
that enthralled the audience.
Madam Chuah came on stage as the lions left the
stage. She gave a brief
introduction to the event, and sent festive
greetings to the students offstage. The prefects
continued their barrage of snapshots at the event.
Her speech was rather short, but brought true
meaning to the festive celebrations. She really cheered
up the audience. Not long after that, she called
upon the Principal, Mr Chan Kai Choon, to give a short
speech.
If was eight o’clock. The Principal went onstage and
gave a short speech as well. It was followed by the
PTA Chairman’s two-minute speech and greetings.
It was 8
o'clock when the Yu Hua Harmonica
Ensemble took the stage by surprise. It was a group
of four. They jumped onto the stage
, armed with harmonicas, music skills, and good
looks. Chinese New Year songs blared into life through the hall
audio system. The
ensemble began their amazing show of skills,
and style. They gave a fabulous presentation to an
enthusiastic crowd.
The Harmonica Ensemble was
followed by a performance from the school’s Cultural
Dance Troupe. There were beautiful dancers dressed
in traditional Chinese costumes. In their
hands were red, silk handkerchiefs with golden lining. In
the middle of the performance, they spun the
handkerchiefs
on their fingertips.
By 8:22, the festive atmosphere was fading fast. Madam Chuah went onstage
once again to introduce a special and rewarding
event – A Chinese New Year Quiz! The
twenty-minute-long quiz was fair – some were easy,
and some were not. Participating students who got
the answers correct won themselves red packets. In one funny incidient, a
teacher stood by a student to persuade him to go
onto stage and take part in the quiz. The student, Bryan,
finally gave in after twenty seconds of 'standoff'
against the teacher’s persuasion.
By nine o'clock,
Madam Chuah went onstage again, wishing students a
very happy new year. The teachers began to clear the
stage as the event drew to a close. They exchanged
mandarin oranges and red packets with each other, as
well as festive greetings. Again, Madam Chuah gave words of encouragement to the
students in the hall. The event was officially
over.
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Morning Celebration
