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From 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Sunday, February 22, 2026, the Tzu Chi Academy, Toronto held its Lunar New Year event, “Culture in Food, Joyfully Welcoming the Year of the Horse,” at the Jing Si Hall of the Tzu Chi Canada (Eastern Headquarters). Centered on the theme of “New Year feast culture,” the program combined hands-on and quiet experiences, inviting students, parents, and teachers to immerse themselves together in the festive New Year atmosphere amid joy and blessings.
Distinguished Guests Gather to Offer New Year Blessings
Distinguished guests attending this event included: Andersen Chu, Executive Director of the Tzu Chi Canada Eastern Headquarters; Yi-Peng Liang, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Toronto; Po-Ching Lan, Director of the Cultural Center of the Office; Ms. Rong Hsueh from the International Languages Department of the Toronto District School Board; Tsan-Wei Wang, Principal of the Tzu Chi Academy, Mississauga; Ms. Shan-Mei Shih, President of the Eastern Canada Chinese School Association; Hung-Mo Hsieh, President of Wei De Chinese School; and Yuan-Pei Wang, Chairman of the Asian Canadian Association.
Director General Yi-Peng Liang cordially offered New Year greetings to everyone: “Happy New Year to you all!” He also specially presented the teachers with 3D Year of the Horse greeting cards. As this year happens to be the Year of the Fire Horse, the cards featured an embedded one-dollar coin, symbolizing “the beginning of a new era and the renewal of all things,” kicking off an auspicious start to the new year.
“Combining the Dynamic and Static, Experiencing the New Year Spirit”: The activities were divided into a quiet, seated program upstairs in the Buddha hall and active, hands-on stations downstairs in the Gratitude Hall. Students were split into Group A (middle and upper grades) and Group B (lower grades), taking turns. After over an hour, they swapped venues so every child could fully participate.
“Rolling Tangyuan for Reunion”: The tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) rolling station was led by Tzu Chi volunteer Chun-Chen Li. She explained to the children: “Eating tangyuan represents reunion and togetherness; tangyuan are eaten during joyous occasions such as weddings or the birth of a child.” The volunteer demonstrated rolling the glutinous rice dough into long strips, breaking them into small pieces, and then shaping them into balls one by one, reminding the children: “The rounder the tangyuan, the better, symbolizing perfection and completeness.”
Warm interactions were constant throughout the activity. Yuan-Tse Liao’s grandmother smiled and encouraged her grandson: “Yuan-Tse, you should learn to make tangyuan for Grandma to eat.” Her praise gave the child more confidence. Parents also joined in, working alongside their children, creating a warm and lively atmosphere.
Volunteers carefully taught tips for making evenly sized pieces, and showed the children how to use the strength of their palms to roll them round, joking: “When you get better, you can roll three at once!” White and red tangyuan complemented each other, with the red symbolizing joy and celebration, perfectly fitting the occasion.
“Making Lanterns, Seamless Cooperation”: The Year of the Horse lantern craft was led by Tzu Chi volunteer Shu Hsu. The lantern consisted of four main parts: the horse head, front legs, body, and hind legs with tail, making it quite challenging for children. Initially bewildered, with step-by-step guidance from the volunteers, parents and children worked together with focus and care, finally completing a movable pony lantern. Seeing their achievements, the children couldn’t put them down, full of a sense of accomplishment.
New Year’s Feast Culture: Passing On Blessings
The quiet activity in the Buddha Hall was hosted by Teacher Fang-Ling Liu. Under the theme “Culture in Food, Joyfully Welcoming the Year of the Horse,” she shared the spirit of gratitude often reminded by Dharma Master Cheng Yen—being grateful to farmers for planting and cultivation, grateful to family members for preparation, and grateful for the causes and conditions that bring each dish to the table. She emphasized that Tzu Chi promotes a vegetarian diet to protect life; cherishing food cultivates blessings, and reducing waste is also a way of protecting the Earth.
Before the activity began, ten students instructed by Teacher Chia-Ling Li opened the event with a Fengyang Flower Drum performance. The powerful, rhythmic, and synchronized drumming infused the venue with festivity and vitality, winning resounding applause.
Principal Chin-Fen Tseng then delivered remarks. She asked with a smile: “Did you have fun downstairs? Whose pony is finished?” The children replied in unison, “Yes!” and held up their lanterns. The principal shared that it took her half an hour to finish her lantern at home and praised the students for completing two activities in such a short time. She also reminded everyone: “New Year dishes are not just delicious; they also carry the blessings and hopes of our elders.”
Teacher Fang-Ling Liu then introduced the auspicious meanings of traditional Lunar New Year foods, such as: dumplings for attracting wealth and treasures; fish for surplus every year; nian gao (rice cake) for rising step by step; fa gao (prosperity cake) for prosperity all the way; long mustard greens for longevity; tangyuan for reunion and completeness; pineapple for thriving prosperity; oranges for great luck and great profit; and apples for peace and safety, and more.
The Q&A session was highly enthusiastic—
“What does the ‘surplus’ in ‘abundance year after year’ refer to?” Ching-Yang Chang answered: “Fish!”
“Why do we eat long mustard greens?” Ai-Rui Chu answered: “For longevity!”
“What does fa gao represent?” Chiao-Tsung Hung answered: “Prosperity all the way!”
“When do we eat the reunion dinner?” Pei-En Wu answered: “On New Year’s Eve!”
Children who answered correctly received souvenirs brought back from Taiwan—a round “Peace” charm or a glow-in-the-dark charm with the character “Affinity”, symbolizing complete peace and the continuation of wholesome affinities.
Teacher Liu concluded: “Culture in food is not just about tasting delicacies, but also savoring blessings, passing on culture, and feeling the warmth of family.”
Red Envelopes of Blessings and Wisdom, Full of Good Wishes
Next, Sister Pao-Yu and Sister Min-Hsuan led everyone in singing and dancing to “Gongxi! Gongxi!” (Congratulations!), filling the hall with a festive mood.
At the end of the event, Principal Chin-Fen Tseng, Dean of Academic Affairs Su-Wen Chang, and Ms. Hsueh from the Toronto District School Board’s International Languages Department distributed “Red Envelopes of Blessings and Wisdom” and prosperity cakes (fa gao). The red envelopes carry the Master’s blessings; the fa gao symbolizes “prosperity all the way and rising step by step,” and is also filled with the love of volunteers who made them by hand.
Teacher Fang-Ling Liu offered blessings to all: ” ‘Blessings’ come from giving and good intentions, while ‘wisdom’ comes from learning and growth. May the children be full of blessings, grow in wisdom, and be safe and healthy; may they rise step by step in character and in their studies. Keep kind thoughts in your heart, speak good words, and do good deeds, so that every day is a good day and every year is a good year.”
Amidst blessings and gratitude, the “Culture in Food, Joyfully Welcoming the Year of the Horse” event came to a successful close, opening a warm and hopeful new chapter for the year ahead.
