Bethlehem Students Celebrate Chinese New Year

Families with Children from China-Lehigh Valley chapter celebrated the Year of the Dragon Saturday with traditional Chinese food, music and dance.

About 220 people turned out for the annual Chinese New Year celebration, held this year at St. Joseph the Worker social hall in Orefield.

Artist Hou Tien Cheng, of Freehold, N.J., a master paper cutter, demonstrated this traditional Chinese art by cutting in freehand intricate designs out of paper, such as silhouettes, dragons and elephants. Cheng has made numerous television appearances and was featured in a Citi Bank TV commercial.

Entertainment included a traditional lion dance performed by students from the Lehigh Valley Hua Xia Chinese School in Bethlehem Township, which meets at Northampton Community College, and a fan dance, "Little Princesses in a World of Chinese Maize Porcelain," presented by students from the Guang Hua Chinese School in Montgomery County. The festivities included crafts, a ribbon dance and dragon parade.

The FCC-LV helped raise money during the event for China Cares, which provides medical care for orphaned children with special needs, with a chocolate sale and raffle.