Happy (Chinese) New Year

Story and photos by Eileen Stanbridge Sussex - While everyone welcomes in the new year, not everyone celebrates it at the same time. Most countries use the Gregorian calendar in which first day of the year is Jan. 1. But the Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, occurs every year on the new moon of the first lunar month and can fall any time between Jan. 21 and Feb. 21. This year the Chinese New Year fell on Feb. 18 and was celebrated for the most part privately by the local Chinese community. But a public celebration of the Year of the Pig was observed by the Internal Gardens School of Classical Taijiquan, which is owned and run by husband-and-wife team, Loretta and Jim Donnelly. “The Chinese New Year is a celebration which receives little fanfare, or indeed little notice, in Sussex County, so we are hosting our third annual new year celebration where teachers and students bring traditional Chinese dishes such as new year dumplings, which signifies togetherness and prosperity,” said Jim Donnelly. More than 50 Tai Chi enthusiasts from as far away as Connecticut arrived for the celebration, each bringing a traditional Chinese dish resulting in a huge buffet of dishes ranging from noodles and rice to beef, chicken and vegetable dishes. Internal Gardens is located at 4 Holly Road in Sussex and has a wide range of programs available to all age groups, including a quick-start program. For more information about Tai Chi and the school, call 973-202-9409 or visit www.internalgardens.com.