The boarders of Bootham and the Mount met last night to celebrate the end of the two week festival of Chinese New Year. Observers of Chinese culture will doubtless note the lateness of our Lantern Festival, but the real date fell just before half term, and coincided with a parents' evening at Bootham. Traditionally, lantern festival falls on the first full moon of the new year, and recalls the fooling of the Jade Emperor, who had decided to punish a city. His plans to rain down fire from Heaven leaked however, and the citizens were able to use lanterns, fireworks and bonfires to fool him into thinking that he had already done the deed. As a housemaster of some years' experience, I know how he must have felt.
For our version of the festival, we were treated to an excellent feast, prepared with great expertise by our head chef and his highly talented team. The res grads decorated the dining room in record time, prompting admiring remarks from many passers-by. Once again, Fran Piddlesden's craft activities provided wonder table decorations, and the pastel-coloured rabbits added a curiously Easterish feel to the evening. Everybody had a lovely time, and I hope very much that some new friendships between students of both schools might spring up as a result. A mixed team of Bootham and Mount college girls gave mellifluous voice to some readings on the topic of the lantern festival during the silence at the end of the meal.
Kirit Gordhandas and Phillip Price braved not only personal injury, but also eternal infamy as the destroyers of the J B library by launching a small fleet of lanterns at the conclusion of the evening. Fortunately neither happened, and the little bamboo craft soared up into the night sky to light the way home for our guests.
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