09.02.2010

Китайский Новый Год

Chinese New Year

February 14, 2010 marks the start of the Year of the Tiger on the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Celebrate the Chinese New Year holiday with great kids' activities and crafts. Also learn about the history and meaning behind Chinese New Year symbols.

All about Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is a holiday that celebrates the beginning of a new year according to the lunar calendar. It is considered to be one of the most important holidays for Chinese families.

The holiday is celebrated with big family gatherings, gift giving, the eating of symbolic foods and display of festive decorations--all focused on bringing good luck for the new year and celebrating the coming of Spring.

When Is Chinese New Year?

The start of Chinese New Year changes every year since it is dictated by the lunar calendar. The Gregorian or solar calendar--which is based on the Earth's movement around the sun and has a fixed number of 365 days a year (366 during a leap year)--is the most widely used calendar system in the world and has been the official calendar used in China since 1912.

But in China the lunar calendar is still used to determine traditional holidays like Chinese New Year. Since the lunar calendar is based on the phases of the moon-- which has a shorter cycle than the sun--Chinese New Year is never on the same day each year, but typically falls somewhere between January 21st and February 20th. For 2008, Chinese New Year falls on February 7th. In 2009 it falls on January 26th.

How Long Do Chinese New Year Celebrations Last?

According to Daria Ng, Assistant Curator of Education at the Museum of Chinese in the Americas in New York City, celebrations can actually last up to a month, especially in China.

Originally the celebrations lasted for lengthy amounts of time because China was a very agriculture-based country so farmers took the whole month off to rest since crops couldn't be planted during the winter. Nowadays most families celebrate the New Year for about two week's time, says Ng, starting on the first day of the new year and end on the 15th.

Chinese Zodiac

Each Chinese New Year is linked to one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac.

The following slides will help you figure out which is your Chinese zodiac animal and discover what famous people also share your sign.

NOTE: Since the Chinese New Year is determined by the Lunar calendar, the last day of the Chinese New Year is not December 31st and the first day of the year is not January 1st. The New Year usually begins between January 21st and February 20th. If you have a birthday that occurs in January or February, please consult a Chinese zodiac calculator to figure out your sign.

There are endless variations of the folklore story explaining how the order of the animals of the zodiac were chosen. Below is a popular telling of tale:

When it came time for the Jade Emperor in heaven to decide the order of the zodiac, he invited all the animals to participate in a race. The order of the zodiac would be decided by the order in which animals finished the race.

When the competition started, the ox was leading the pack, but the rat jumped on his back. Since the rat was so light and small, the ox did not realize that the rat was hitching a ride. As the ox approached the finish line, the rat leap off his back and was crowned as the first animal to complete the race.

After all the creatures finished the race, the order was finalized: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.

According to legend, those born in a particular year of an animal are said to possess particular character traits associated with that animal.

Traditions

Clean house and new clothes

According to Celebrate Chinese New Year by Elaine A. Kule, prior to the first day of the New Year it is customary for families to thoroughly clean their homes from top to bottom. Doing this is said to clear out any back luck from the previous year and to ready the house to accept good luck for the coming year.

All cleaning must be finished before New Year's Day so there is no chance of accidentally throwing out the good fortune of the new year. "Before New Year's Day you want to buy new clothes or cut your hair" in order to have a fresh start, says Ng. Wearing black is not allowed due to its association with death, however, wearing red is encouraged as the color is associated with warding off bad spirits.

Decorate the house

Another popular custom is to hang up signs and posters on doors and windows with the Chinese word fu written on them, which translates to luck and happiness. Buying flowers for the home is also commonplace since they symbolize the coming of spring and a new beginning. In Chinese neighborhoods, special lunar New Year flower markets often sprout up during the days prior to the New Year. Check out our charming plum blossom craft and other Chinese New Year decorations you can make for your home.

Eat with your family

On the eve of the Chinese New Year it is customary to visit with relatives and partake in a large dinner where a number of specific foods are served.

"Typically families do eight or nine dishes because they are lucky numbers," says Grace Young, author of The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen. "The Chinese word for eight is baat [in Cantonese], which rhymes with faat, the word for prosperity." The word for nine means "long-lasting."

"A lot of the foods are very symbolic," explains Ng. Some popular foods include: dumplings ("because they look like golden nuggets" says Ng), oranges ("because they are perfectly round, symbolizing completeness and wholeness"), and long noodles ("served to symbolize long life").

Sticky rice cakes and sweets are also served and are tied to a story about the Kitchen God-- a Santa Claus-like figure who reports to the Jade Emperor in heaven on whether families have been good or bad through the course of the year. According to legend, when families serve the Kitchen God sticky, delicious foods, his mouth gets stuck together and therefore he cannot report any bad things about the family to the Jade Emperor.

Want to whip up some dishes for your Chinese New Year celebration? Check out our story "Chinese New Year Dishes" as well as our best-loved Chinese recipes on Kaboose.

Give good luck gifts

It is a traditional practice for adults to give children little red envelopes--hong bao in Mandarin or lai-see in Cantonese--filled with money in order to symbolize wealth and prosperity for the coming year. It is also common for elders to bestow red packets to unmarried members of the family. It is a sign of respect to bow three times in order to accept the hong bao. Envelopes are not to be opened until the recipient has left the home of the giver.

Make lanterns

The New Year's festivities come to an end on the fifteenth day of the new year, which is celebrated by the Lantern Festival. According to the book Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats by Nina Simonds, Leslie Swartz, and the Children's Museum, Boston, the Lantern Festival honors the first full moon of the year and represents the coming of springtime.

Families will light lanterns, which symbolize the brightness of spring, and hang them on walls around the house, or on poles to be carried in lantern parades. You can create kid-friendly paper lantern crafts with your children in order to honor this tradition.

Honor the animal

Every year is associated with one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, with each animal being represented once every 12 years. These animals are often represented in decorations during the holiday. Figure out which is your Chinese zodiac animal and discover what famous people also share your sign by reading our article "Chinese Astrology: Animals of the Chinese Zodiac."

Some people believe that those born during the year of a particular animal will end up with the character traits of that animal. For example, if you were born during the year of the rat, you will grow up to be imaginative and cunning.

Celebrate Chinese New Year with these crafts for kids

Tiger Paper Bag Puppet

Whether it's celebrating the Year of the Tiger for Chinese New Year, or you just like tigers, this tiger paper bag puppet is a fun craft for a dreary afternoon.

Tiger Finger Puppet

This tiger finger puppets craft is a fun way to celebrate the Chinese New Year, Year of the Tiger. Make several of these tigers and have a mini puppet show!

Chinese Paper Lanterns

A fun paper lantern craft for kids to decorate your home for Chinese New Year. Make many Chinese paper lanterns of different colors for decorations and hang them around your home.

Cardboard Tube Red Firecrackers

A common decoration during Chinese New Year is a string of red firecrackers. Some believe that throwing firecrackers scares away evil spirits. Make a string of your own by using cardboard tubes to make red frecrackers for kids to display!

Chinese New Year Red Envelopes

During the Chinese New Year it is common for children to receive a lucky red envelope containing money as a gift from family members. Make your own red envelope for Chinese New Year and decorate it with good luck symbols!

Chinese New Year Welcome Door Hanger

Make this door hanger to welcome good fortune into your home this Chinese New Year. This fun welcome door hanger craft for the Chinese New Year is simple and festive to get you into the year of the Tiger.

How to make it:

· Print out pattern of Chinese letters. This spells out "Welcome."

· Use pattern and a pencil or pen to draw the Chinese letters onto the door hanger.

· Using gold glitter glue, carefully trace the Chinese letters. Decorate the rest of the door hanger as you like. We drew a border around the hanger and decorated the corners.

· Allow the glitter glue to dry for at least three hours.

· When glitter glue is dry, glue the orange circles onto the lower half of the door hanger. The larger circles are oranges and they represent wealth. The smaller circles are tangerines, which are symbolic of good luck.

Clay Pot Rat

This cute little rodent, whether it be a mouse or a rat, is absolutely adorable! A cute clay pot craft for kids for Chinese New Year or a rainy afternoon.

Felt Dumplings

These cute little felt dumplings are a symbol of Chinese New Year. Have fun this Chinese New Year by making these fun felt dumpling crafts for kids.

Chinese Orange Tray

During the celebration of Chinese New Year, oranges and tangerines are displayed in trays or bowls. Tangerines are symbolic of good luck and oranges represent wealth. Make your own Chinese orange tray to share good luck with your whole family.

Plum Blossoms

For this kids' craft, transform paper into a beautiful plum blossom tree for Chinese New Year. This easy and elegant craft for kids makes for a lovely table display.

Chinese Dragon Parade

Watch your kids parade around with pride with this homemade crepe paper dragon celebrating Chinese New Year.

Felt Snake

Chinese New Year is the perfect time to celebrate with this felt snake craft. Kids can use it to decorate pens, pencils or whatever they please.

Chinese Fortune Cookie Decoration

You can guess your fortune with this felt fortune cookie decoration, but no peeking! This kids craft is a great table decoration for Chinese New Year, New Year's Day or any special day of the year.

Ox Pin or Magnet

There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. One of them is the ox. Make this cute ox pin to wear, or put a magnet on it and hang it on the fridge.

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