Event Diaries: Lunar New Year CelebrAsian
A new year, a fresh start, a celebration of the Year of the Snake! On a bright and sunny Saturday, Asian Girls Ignite’s (AGI) middle and high schoolers came together like family—to connect, reflect, and welcome the year ahead with joy and intention. We watched a lion dance, got creative with crafts, and shared meaningful moments that brought us even closer as a community. Let’s dive into the day!
💜Creating Bonds, One Greeting at a Time!
To start the day, students teamed up by finding others with matching colors on their nametags! Each group got to create their own fun and unique handshake. Students then split and teamed up across groups to merge all three handshakes into one-MEGA-handshake, showing off their creativity as they combined their moves in the most epic way!
After mastering their handshakes, we jumped right into something just as thrilling—a spectacular lion dance performance by Guiding Mountain Dragon & Lion Dance! Lion dances are a popular tradition during Lunar New Year (LNY) to symbolize good luck and prosperity as they ward off bad luck and evil spirits. To receive even more luck this year, students were provided with red envelopes to feed the lions during the performance!
🧧 Leaping into Luck and Tradition: Lion Dance Performance
Drums and cymbals thundered through the yard as the lions marched in, decked out in vibrant pink and purple—AGI style! The energy was through the roof as we watched the dancers bring the tradition to life, including the orange-eating ritual, symbolizing longevity and health.
And here's the best part: when the lions “spit out” the oranges, it’s a lucky moment for anyone who catches one with their hands—more good luck coming to our students and our co-founder, Joanne!
“When I lived in Boston, I was part of an all Asian women’s lion and dragon dance troupe. This is significant because back in Ancient China women weren’t allowed to do this art because they believed it took a lot of endurance, discipline, and strength that they didn’t think women had. Not only did being part of this troupe showcase my physical strength, it supported me in finding my inner power that already existed to help me realize I can do and be anything I wanted. Still to this day, lion dancing not only represents celebration of my Chinese heritage but it also reminds me that I am powerful.”
Once the performance wrapped up, the excitement didn’t stop there—students got the chance to dive into the action themselves! They tried on the lion dance heads, fluttering the lion’s eyes and moving their mouths just like the dancers do. Our program coordinator, Annabel, even got in on the fun by testing her skills with throwing an orange! Plus, students had the chance to try their hands at the drums and cymbals, bringing the rhythm to life and feeling the pulse of the performance for themselves. Thank you to the Guiding Mountain Dragon & Lion Dance team for an amazing and informative performance!
🩵 Gathering, Creating, and Unwinding
Following all the excitement, students settled into a relaxing mix of activities that allowed for creativity and fun at a more laid-back pace. In the community room, students built Legos together, played a friendly game of Bầu Cua Tôm Cá (Gourd Crab Shrimp Fish), a traditional Vietnamese Lunar New Year game of luck, and some even tried their hand at Gonggi, a traditional Korean five-stone game as seen on the popular Netflix Korean Thriller Series, Squid Game!
In the other room, a temporary tattoo and puzzle station was set up featuring the 13 Chinese Zodiac Animals designed by Bo & Mei. Craft stations featured coloring, polymer clay, and origami, while the high school students’ favorites were the polaroid station and the mini karaoke machine!
🫶 A Meal for the Mind and Heart
To recharge and nourish ourselves after such an exciting morning, we enjoyed a delicious lunch catered by No Ke Aloha, a family-owned catering company that serves up delicious Hawaiian BBQ and other Polynesian-inspired dishes. For dessert, we shared beautiful creations by Sweet Rice Flour, an Asian and women-owned online bakery in Denver. A variety of choux puffs and Laotian steamed tiered layer mochi desserts were the perfect way to end the day!
While students finished their meals, placed the last pieces on their Lego builds, and made their finishing touches on their crafts, they were invited to reflect on a prompt inspired by the year of the snake:
“Like a snake, sometimes we need to shed the old to bring in the new. This change can make us feel scared, uncertain, excited, or curious. ✋🏼What is one thing you hope to let go of this year, to make space for something new?”
Students anonymously wrote their thoughts on a card and placed it into a box for it to be randomly distributed and read at our closing circle. This question was to encourage deep reflections for their personal growth whether it was any stressors, an outdated expectation, or something they want to let go of.
🎁 From Zoom to Tradition: The Story Behind AGI's Lunar New Year Surprise Boxes
Before closing circle, Joanne shared the origin of AGI’s Lunar New Year celebration, taking us back to 2021 when AGI students came together on Zoom to celebrate. At the time, Joanne asked herself, “What can we do to make this special and still feel connected during Lunar New Year?”
That’s when the idea for the 'surprise boxes' was born. Since LNY is all about giving—and the more you give, the more you receive—Joanne carefully created and hand-delivered each box to students that year. Some of those students were here with us this day, four years later, continuing the tradition of opening the boxes together, even if it's no longer on Zoom!
Each item in these boxes were thoughtfully chosen from AANHPI women-owned businesses, carrying meaning, creativity, and cultural connection. The crochet kits from Woobles and air-dry clay kits from ClayMoo reflect the students’ love for hands-on art projects that spark joy and allow them to channel their creativity. The bandanas from Art by Ciara, an independent Chamoru artist who integrates AANHPI imagery into her work, was chosen as a multifunctional, gender-neutral gift that students could wear, display, or hold as a piece of art! And the last gift was hand-chosen by Annabel, a ceramic crane chopstick holder from Truong An Gifts on Federal Boulevard in Denver, Colorado. As a child, Annabel’s mom would fold paper cranes for her and her brother to find. Cranes are a strong motif in Korean ceramics, something she learned during her time in undergrad- they are a symbol of longevity and abundance. Annabel wanted to gift the students something that is near and dear to her heart to celebrate and share her culture.
⭐ Closing Circle: Shedding the Old, Embracing the New
It was then time for our closing circle, student’s reflections were randomly distributed and were read out loud to the group, acknowledging each others’ vulnerability and honoring the thoughts of those around us. By sharing this experience, we strengthen our sense of belonging and collective growth.
Join us in embracing the courage of our students through some of their heartfelt reflections:
“I want to stop hating and comparing myself when we all shine brightly in our own way, like the stars.”
“I will let go of embarrassing moments and uncomfortable memories of last year and make better ones this year.”
“I want to get better at drawing and continue to learn Chinese.”
“I will let go of resentment and self hatred.”
“I want to shed things that don’t give me positive energy.”
“I am going to let go of stress from school.”
“I would like to let go of my impatience.”
As we concluded our closing circle, Joanne gave us a reminder of how the things that we want to let go of are not something we should be ashamed of, but an integral part of who we are, our journey, and growth.
⭐ Reflections from team agi
This celebration was more than just a gathering- it was a reminder of the power we hold in shaping our own stories, embracing change and supporting one another. We hope everyone leaves feeling inspired, refreshed, and ready to take on the year ahead with courage and kindness!
Wishing you a prosperous and joyful Lunar New Year filled with good health, success, and meaningful connections. May this year bring new opportunities and continued growth for you and your loved ones!
About Asian Girls Ignite
Founded in October 2020, Asian Girls Ignite is a non-profit organization that provides educational programs for AANHPI girls and gender-expansive youth to celebrate their individual and collective power. We use storytelling to empower the next generation to write their futures in their own voice. Our programs and events nurture social-emotional learning to help our students grow in resilience, empathy, and self-awareness.
Our Event Diaries series was created to share meaningful moments with our community. We are incredibly grateful to have the support of our families and community members behind us. Sharing an inside look at our events is just one of the many ways we want to keep the AGI community informed of the impact of their support.
