How to Teach Kids About Lunar New Year

Gong Hay Fat Choy! Celebrate the Lunar New Year and explore new cultural traditions by preparing a fun classroom or homeschool celebration. A Lunar New Year party will allow you to talk about the cultures of the different Asian countries (China, Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia, amongst others) in which it is celebrated, and to discuss other holiday traditions observed around the world.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Books with stories about Lunar New Year, Chinese horoscopes, etc.
• Different types of lucky foods
• Red and gold paper for making decorations

1. Read a book about the holiday. You can find a number of books in libraries and bookstores that provide information about how it is celebrated or tell stories set at this time of year.

2. Make some decorations for your house or classroom. Red and gold are the traditional lucky colors, and you can make paper lanterns, paper chains and draw pictures of traditional Asian good luck symbols such as dragons, tigers and fish.

3. Learn about the Chinese horoscope. Find out about the animal of the year, and read one of the legends about how the years all came to be named after the different animals. You may want to visit a Chinese restaurant that has paper place mats featuring pictures of the Chinese zodiac. Children always enjoy finding out about the animals that govern the years they were born.

4. Prepare a special feast using different types of "lucky" food. Serve noodles for longevity, oranges or tangerines for wealth, and chicken for prosperity. A whole fish represents togetherness, which is appropriate for close-knit families, but most children wouldn't be too thrilled about having to eat one.

5. Visit your city's Chinatown if you live near a major metropolis like New York, San Francisco, or Washington, DC. A big dragon dance moving through the city streets is a sight not to be missed.

Tips & Warnings

• Even smaller cities often have lion dancers visiting shops and restaurants during the Lunar New Year celebrations--check with a local Kung Fu school to see if they sponsor a lion dance team.