Glen Grove Community Project

Filipino New Year traditions include many superstition-related practices - from a centerpiece of twelve round fruits at the media noche (New Year's Eve midnight meal) table for good luck to jumping up and down at the stroke of midnight to grow taller to not cleaning on New Year's Day so you won't clean the rest of the year... oftentimes there are too many for me to keep track of.

Food, in particular, is rich in symbolism and superstition on New Year's Eve.

Serving a whole cooked fish on New Year's Eve is supposed to bring good luck. This practice stems from neighboring Chinese traditions, as the Chinese word for fish (yu/魚) sounds like the word for abundance (yú/余). While fish is okay, chicken is not, as it is believed that if you eat chicken, you will live like a chicken the rest of the year, pecking at the ground for scraps in a laborious manner. Other New Year staples include sticky foods like kutsinta (sticky steamed rice cakes) and tikoy (another rice cake), symbolizing 'sticking together' with family, and round foods like bibingka (baked rice cake) to usher in wealth as circles symbolize coins. Eating 12 grapes under the table in the last seconds before midnight, a newer trend in the Philippines, is said to bring sweet new love into a person's life.

While whether these traditions truly bring love, luck, or a year of abundance is up for debate, there is an underlying message that what we eat (in both the physical and metaphorical senses) at the beginning of the year can affect how we live the other 364 days. No matter what or when you celebrate a new year on the calendar, there is a desire to take in just the good stuff - resolutions to do or be better, happy times spent with family and friends, wishes for good health and happiness, and love in all forms and fashions. We are encouraged to leave the past behind - anything that weighs us down or doesn't serve what we are manifesting for the new year. In the new year, these traditions are actions that signify our desires (or dare I say "hunger") for the possibilities of a new year.

After all, just like many people around the world sang at the stroke of midnight of January 1st, "We'll take a cup o' kindness yet for days of auld lang syne."

Take that cup of kindness this year - and let that fill you with good things yet to come.

Korean

Mongolian

Russian

Ukrainian

Spanish

January 19 - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

A federal holiday celebrating the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who advocated for civil rights for all.

Black History Month - February 1 to 28

A month celebrating the achievements and contributions of the Black community throughout history. This year marks 100 years of commemorating black history.

February 2 - Groundhog Day

An American tradition of observing the behaviors of groundhogs in prediction regarding the coming of spring.

February 14 - Valentines Day

It is a holiday celebrating love through the exchanging of gifts and kind gestures.

Ramadan - February 17 to March 19

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is a special time for reflection, fasting, and community. It is celebrated with prayers, giving of charity, and fasting. Overall, it is a time to show kindness to others and self-improvement.

If you have students who need alternate accommodations during the lunch periods, please reach out to Kate or Lisa F.!

February 17 - Lunar New Year

From Korean Seollal, Mongolian Tsagan Sar, Vietnamese Tet, and Chinese Lunar New Year; various Asian communities celebrate Lunar New Year around the world.

Chinese Lunar New Year - February 17, 2025
Seollal - February 17, 2025
Tet -February 17, 2025
Tsagaan Sar - February 18, 2025

We are celebrating the year of the horse!

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Whether you're resolving resolutions or manifesting manifestations, our Gator students and staff were asked what they are manifesting this year.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered for his work as a change-maker and activist. His most famous speech, "I Have a Dream," continues to resonate through the United States and the work of all those who came after him. He is honored every third Monday in January through celebrations, television specials, and speeches. Watch Kid President's video about MLK Jr. and enjoy some crafts to celebrate Dr. King and his great work.

How do you mark new beginnings?

Books on Holidays & Traditions on Destiny Discover

Mrs. Funke, the Glen Grove LRC Director, compiled a collection of books related to the various celebrations featured in the Community Project

Glen Grove Community Project Site

Our site has been updated. Come check it out!

Read the December 2025 Newsletter

The GGCP acknowledges the land upon which Glen Grove School stands on and in being part of this community, we want to share resources to further our students' and families' knowledge of the land and respect communities of past and present. This year, a donation was made to the National Indigenous Women's Resource Center