Happy Lunar New Year!
Lunar New Year for Kids I Year of the Tiger I Activities to Do
All around the world people will be celebrating Lunar New Year on February 1st, 2022! What is the Lunar New Year?
With a history of over 3,000 years, the Lunar New Year festival, like most holidays, originates from mythical and spiritual roots. “The holiday is celebrated on the first day of the lunisolar calendar when the new moon comes out, and lasts 15 days until the next full moon rises,” writes author Eugenia Chu in her latest book, “Celebrating Chinese New Year: History, Traditions, and Activities – A Holiday Book for Kids.” The lunisolar calendar is calculated based on the moon, sun and the seasons while the western calendar is based on the sun’s movements only. This is why the Lunar New Year falls on a different day each year, typically between January and February.
An estimate 1.5 billion people across the world celebrate with family and friends. Ms. Hui told us about some traditions she participates in- wearing new red clothes, exchanging red envelopes and sharing a meal with family. In the Chinese culture the color red symbolizes luck, joy and happiness. Ms. Nha has been preparing for the Lunar New Year by cleaning her home in preparation for a clean start in a new year and cooking traditional dishes. They also have five fruits that are part of their celebration table- pineapple, apple, oranges, mangoes and grapes. Ms. Nha and her family also have traditional Vietnamese red clothing that they will wear. She will be visiting some of our classrooms to teach our kiddos all about the day.
We will be sharing the book Alex’s Good Fortune by Benson Shum which tells the story of girl named Alex who invites her friend Ethan to celebrate Chinese New Year with her family. She and her family teach him about their traditions throughout the day.
Once you have educated your kiddos about the history and significance of Lunar New Year, you can do some really excellent crafts with them! Here are a few of our favorites