Surrey school highlights Asian cultures for Lunar New Year
Published 6:00 pm Wednesday, February 18, 2026
North Surrey Secondary students hosted events and activities to shine a spotlight on the many cultures that celebrate the Lunar New Year.
Feb. 17 marked the beginning of the Lunar New Year, and North Surrey Secondary’s Pacific Asian Student Association (PASA) welcomed many individuals to learn about how different cultures honour the festival.
Lunar New Year is observed by Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and other South East Asian communities around the world.
This annual celebration goes by several names across multiple languages such as Chūnjié in China, Tết in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea.
The Lunar New Year marks the first new moon of the lunisolar calendar and is said to serve as a time to reflect on a year of hard work, as well as wish for a prosperous and luck-filled future in the year ahead.
2026 is the Year of the Horse, which symbolizes strength, energy, passion and a free-spirited, independent nature.
North Surrey’s PASA wanted to embrace the unique ways different backgrounds recognize the Lunar New Year, Surrey Schools notes.
“Lunar New Year is one of the biggest events that we do, and it really is an opportunity for Pacific Asian students to showcase different parts of their culture and how they celebrate it,” said Jeraldynne Gomez, the sponsor teacher for the PASA.
The PASA hosted three unique stations representing different countries.
“The student population at North Surrey is so diverse, and we try our best to create opportunities for these different populations to have representation, whether it’s a post during a particular month to celebrate or bring awareness to different cultures,” Gomez explained.
Students shared educational information cards about how each country recognizes the festival prior to the Lunar New Year celebration event.
The China station taught students how to write calligraphy and draw basic Chinese characters, instructed by experienced volunteers. Chinese snacks were also offered, such as White Rabbit candy, guava candy and rice crackers.
The Vietnam Station featured games of Ô Ăn Quan, a traditional folk board game that involves collecting the most stones. Prizes for these games were coconut candies and dried fruit candies.
The Korea Station hosted games of Dbakji, a South Korean playground game using folded paper tiles. Plum candies, green grape candies and yakgwa were offered as snacks at this station.
Surrey Schools said some of the other events and activities highlighted at this celebration included martial arts performances, red paper bag decorating, a photobooth with horse-themed props, dumpling serving and a $15 gift card draw.
The PASA was founded in 2024 by students Jenny Ye and Hannah N. in an effort to increase representation at the school. Gomez was enlisted to support the association during this 2025-26 school year.
Many nationalities are represented in the association, including students with backgrounds from Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Singapore, with PASA-led events serving to highlight how various countries recognize Lunar New Year.
“I’m Filipino, and growing up in Surrey, I had similar experiences where I didn’t really feel the same representation when I was going to school,” shared Gomez.
Gomez explained that part of the focus for PASA was to bring opportunities for all the smaller voices that do not often get representation.
She also shared that the work of the PASA has expanded to start up a similar club at Johnston Heights Secondary.
“We’re really hoping that this could be more common across the district,” Gomez said.
She shared that with these groups continuing to raise awareness and increase student representation, she hopes more students will be inspired to start their own associations to better represent their student populations.