According to the traditional Chinese calendar, the celebration of the beginning of a new year is upon us. This year is the year of the rat. It is the first of the 12 zodiac animals. 

On Saturday, the Cozby Library and Community Commons is holding its third annual Chinese New Year event from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. The event is free. 

The celebration, also known as the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year, is where each new year one of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals is assigned. 

“Each year has a different animal that has different significance,” Coppell High School Chinese teacher Andrea Voelker said.

It is an annual festival celebrated not just by the Chinese but people around the world. 

“It says Chinese New Years, but there’s actually a little bit of Korean culture and Japanese culture inside because they also celebrate this,” CHS sophomore Risa Azim said.

The event is organized by the Chinese club with students from CHS, CHS9 and New Tech High @ Coppell all working together to make it a success. 

“This year is very creative, we put in a lot of different things,” Voelker said. “This year what is new is we added performances.”

Some of the activities include singing and dancing performances, puppet shows, face painting, Chinese yo-yo games and more. They will have workshops from learning calligraphy to how to properly use chopsticks. 

“People should go to this event because in Coppell we have many different races and backgrounds,” Azim said. “You can learn about other people and what they do.”