Holy Redeemer Celebrates Chinese New Year Feb. 11, 2024
For Sunday February 11, 2024, Holy Redeemer had a single Mass at 11:15 to get together the entire congregation to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Before Mass, the Dance Troupe performed a beautiful dance with ribbons and dressed elegantly in dark red velour trimmed with red buttons. Next, the Choir sang two songs in Chinese celebrating the holiday. Lastly, the Folk Group played an uplifting song with violins and a recorder.
The Mass was con-celebrated by Fr. Jin, Fr. Akolla, and Fr. Tom, assisted by Deacon David to a packed church. After Mass, throats were blessed in remembrance of the feast day of St. Blaise. Oranges, a good luck symbol of the Chinese New Year, were given to the people in attendance. This tradition was followed by a ceremony to honor our ancestors with prayers from Fr. Tom and offerings of incense in front of the cross. To close out the day, people distributed 400 balloons emblazened with the name and address of Holy Redeemer School to children watching the parades in Chinatown.