Chinese Culture Day is always an exciting and memorable day at AISG where we celebrate the culture of our host country as well as the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday. The day is full of celebrations, performances, activities, games, and more. This year’s theme was ‘Cantonese Culture Fair’, celebrating our host province of Guangdong and highlighting Lingnan culture!

The morning started with our Annual Fund Hongbao Appreciation Reception. As students and caregivers arrived in the morning, they were given the chance to hang their blessings on a big cherry blossom tree at the entrance of our Ersha campus. Our Annual Fund team and caregiver volunteers were invited to join the morning celebrations with a tea ceremony.

The entire Elementary School came together on Ersha to celebrate the day, including special performances! To kick things off, AISG’s dragon and lion dance team performed for everyone, showcasing the skills they’ve learned from expert Cantonese lion dance teachers from our past Speaker Series guest, Weibin Zhao’s talented team.

Our teachers also got on stage to show off their language skills to wish everyone happy lunar new year and good fortunes with Chinese idioms – this year in Cantonese!

The morning also featured a puppet show performance from past speaker Cui Keqin’s team of puppet artists, telling the story “The Mighty Warrior,” which tells the story of the legendary hero Yang Jian, also known as the great god Erlang.

Next up was the Lingnan Cultural Parade, with students donning traditional costumes to showcase different aspects of Cantonese culture such as the five immortals, rooster olives, Han and Tang dynasty traditional costumes, Foshan fish lanterns, and Cantonese opera costumes.

To close out the show, everyone joined in together to sing the Cantonese nursery rhyme “It’s a Small World.” It tells of the wonderful connections between people and how close and interconnected our world is, perfect for our diverse and compassionate community!

Our students were filled with excitement at the variety of different activities and games our incredible caregiver volunteers helped to organize. This year’s cultural heritage experience area included activities and games such as bamboo weaving, Cantonese embroidery, paper cutting, woodblock new year paintings, lantern making, and a tea culture experience.

At AISG, we celebrate the rich cultural heritage of China, ensuring all our students experience the unique arts and activities that make this region special. Through events like Chinese Culture Day, our students gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of local culture, fostering a lifelong love for the traditions that make China unique.

A heartfelt thank you to our caregiver volunteers and the Chinese team for their incredible efforts in organizing activities, creating costumes, teaching dance moves, and running booths. Their dedication ensures that each year is memorable, and this year was no exception!

At AISG, we are privileged to have a vibrant and diverse group of families who are as equally committed to supporting our students as they are to supporting each other as a community. Click here to learn more about the AISG community.