On Saturday, February 15, over 150 people from Hand in Hand (手拉手）Chinese Culture Program and Families with Children from China gathered at Golden House Restaurant to celebrate the arrival of the year of the horse with a night full of festivities.
Hand in Hand and FCC Atlanta are both non-profit organizations that target American families with Chinese adopted children. Hand in Hand is a Big Sibling, Little Sibling program where a younger child that is adopted from China gets paired with a high school, Chinese-American student. The Big Sibling acts as a mentor to his or her Little Sibling, and oftentimes they hang out outside of Hand in Hand events. These two organizations hold events throughout the year to celebrate Chinese holidays, culture, and customs, and they joined forces this year to hold one big Chinese New Year celebration. For many of the families, it is a yearly tradition and an opportunity to learn about their children's origins. It is also chance for the adopted children to befriend others with similar stories and immerse themselves in their homeland's culture.
As the guests began to arrive, families united and reunited with each other, and children ran around with excitement, waiting for the activities to begin. The evening started off with a craft, where the children made homemade hand drums out of paper plates, decorative ribbons, and beads. As the children finished up the craft, the anticipation for the performances filled the room.
A full program of entertainment was provided by the talented Hand in Hand volunteers as well as the Atlanta Chinese Dance Company who dressed in traditional clothing and performed Chinese folk dances and songs. A Kung Fu demonstration was also performed, which stirred up immense involvement from the audience when the performer asked several kids to be a part of his act. The show ended with a lively lion dance, in which the performers wove through the crowds in a two person costume.
Once the performances were over, families were provided a delicious dinner by Golden House Restaurant. To replicate the Chinese tradition of lighting fireworks at the end of Chinese New Year, all the kids and parents gathered to pop bubble wrap, scaring the evil spirits of the new year away and leaving the families with an ecstatic, hopeful feeling for the new year.
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