East Point Academy students from kindergarten to middle school celebrated the Chinese New Year, Friday. In China, it is the Year of the Pig
The event included a parade and an assembly. Student dancers, performers and activity groups marched in front of Eat Point’s elementary building on Chris Drive in West Columbia. East Point is South Carolina’s premier Chinese language immersion school.

The participants in Friday’s celebration were dressed in traditional Chinese attire and school spirit wear. Immediately following the parade, the beauty of Chinese culture and artistry was demonstrated as students from every grade level performed in the school wide Chinese New Year Assembly. Performances included traditional Chinese dance and drum routines, Mandarin choral performances, a play performed in Mandarin and musical numbers.

As a Chinese Immersion school , East Point leaders said it is important to celebrate the special day of Chinese New Year. It is also known as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year. It is the most important and most widely celebrated holiday in China. It is a time for family celebrations, honoring ancestors and wishing luck and good fortune in the year to come. Chinese New Year begins with the new moon that occurs between the end of January and the end of February and it lasts until the full moon arrives with the Festival of Lanterns. Photos by Amy Roper