On Sunday, the Ferguson Library hosted the Chinese Language School of Fairfield County and the Chinese Language School of Connecticut as they celebrated the Chinese New Year.

This is the fourth year that the Ferguson has celebrated Chinese New Year at the Main Library. They also have celebrations throughout the year screening foreign films, celebrating Diwali, and spotlighting the various cultures that make up the city.

“We have 33 staff members who speak different languages,” Yelena Klompus, reference library at the Ferguson Library, said. “That’s representative of Stamford. We try to acknowledge every culture that’s in Stamford."

And this year's celebration is special because 2012 is the year of the dragon — a Chinese zodiac symbol with added importance.

“The dragon is more glamorous, more powerful — of the twelve animals, this is the most blessed,” Alexander Lee, circulation supervisor at the Ferguson Library, said.

The year of the dragon is so revered in Chinese culture that more children are born during the year of the dragon than during each of the other eleven years in the cycle.

“In Hong Kong, they’re already predicting a peak in the birthrate,” Lee explained.

The Chinese Language School of Fairfield County has just around 100 students. While it used to be 99% children of Chinese heritage, today, roughly 60% are Chinese with 40% representing other cultures.

“We have kids from all over the place,” Yulin Tsao, co-principal of the Chinese Language School of Fairfield County, said. “If you want to do business later on, it’s much easier to learn a new language when you’re young.”

The youngest students from the school performed a dance for the new year. Next, Estella Yen demonstrated tai chi and invited audience members up to participate. Tsao explained the symbols in each pose as Yen led the group through the movements on stage.

Katy Chen Myers from the Chinese Language School of Connecticut led the children in the room through an arts and crafts project — creating Chinese couplets for the new year.

“You would hang these on either side of your door or above your door,” Myers said. “It means that everything will go smoothly in the new year.”

As they colored in the characters on the couplets, Myers shared stories about the traditions of the Chinese New Year.

“Now, I believe in Santa Claus, but I also believe in the Kitchen God,” Myers told the children. “Before the new year, the Kitchen God and his wife come to make sure your home is clean and to be sure you haven’t been naughty, just like Santa. Then he reports back to the Jade Emperor and gives him your report.”

Couplets displayed on the door also serve to welcome the Kitchen God to the home, so Myers stressed the importance of coloring the characters neatly.

“Most of the children I know help to make sure their home is very clean,” Myers said. “You want it to look so beautiful.”

The Chinese Language School of Connecticut will host its 10th Annual Fundraiser, their Chinese New Year Festival on January 22 at the Stamford Plaza Hotel and Conference Center.