Chinese New Year from Musical Mandarin

2012-01-18T00:07:00.001-05:00

We are less than a week away from the start of another Dragon Year!

"Dragons" will turn 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, or 108 this year.

Chinese New Year or Spring Festival (Chun Jie)

2011-01-25T22:58:00.003-05:00

Chinese New Year or Spring Festival (Chun Jie) is the start of the lunar calendar and the coming of spring. It is the largest Chinese celebration, celebrated by Chinese worldwide – on the second new moon after the winter solstice. Chinese New year primarily involves family, friends and food.

Celebrations used to last 4 weeks but now it is 3 to 4 days, although there are events listed for 15 days, ending with Lantern Festival on (lunar) 1/15, a full moon night. Many people in China get 5 days off to celebrate – although they may have to work the weekend before or afterward to make up for that.

Xin Nian Kuai le! Gong xi Fa cai!
Chun Jie Kuai le! Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Every community has different ways of celebrating. In American many Chinese families are known to celebrate on the nearest weekend, being sure to clean the house, decorate with red, share a meal together, and perhaps wear traditional clothes.

The next Chinese New Years start on February 3, 2011; January 23, 2012; Feb. 20, 2013; Jan. 31, 2014; Feb. 19, 2015; Feb. 8, 2016; Jan. 28, 2017; February 16, 2018; and February 5, 2019. If you want to do something at school, tell your child's teacher sooner rather than later - especially when it is so close to Valentine's Day they need to plan how to spend their time. Some parents are unable to go in when the teacher can support it and just send in (red) hong bao "goodie bags" as if it was a birthday. If you go in a lantern craft or parade, or a dragon to parade under is wonderful. Bring in some background music if you can.

How did Chinese New Year come to be celebrated? According to an ancient legend, once a year people were tormented by a beast called a Nian (a ferocious creature with an extremely large mouth) which was capable of swallowing several people in a single bite. Relief from the Nian came only when an old man tricked the beast into disappearing. Or scared it away with loud noises and red. In reality, New Years festivities probably evolved from a desire to celebrate the end of winter and the fertility and rebirth that come with the spring, much like the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia. Today, New Year is about family reunions and wishing everyone good fortune in the coming year. (Nian is Mandarin for year. Xin Nian Kuai Le!)

Some Chinese traditions for welcoming the New Year and creating good fortune in the year ahead:

BEFORE New Year’s: Clean your home, sweep away the bad luck of the year that's ending, get new clothes, get your hair cut. Plan out the food! Round food (fruits like oranges which are also gold color) are good. Fish, long life noodles, … Pay off any debts so you can start the year fresh. Decorate your home in red, the Chinese color for good luck.

During the first days of New Year: DO NOT clean your home. You do not want to risk sweeping away the good luck of the New Year. Don’t wash your hair the first day, or get it cut in the first week or so.
An important tradition on New Year's Eve is for families to gather together and spend the evening preparing jiaozi or boiled dumplings. According to Chinese Culture Guide Jun Shan, it is common to hide a coin in one of the dumplings. Whoever gets the dumpling with the coin will supposedly have good luck in the coming year. (perhaps only in his community?)
Try to see as many of your family and friends as possible during the New Year celebration to spread good wishes for the coming year.
Give out money packets - On New Years day, children receive “lai see” or “hong bao”- red packets decorated with gold symbols and filled with "lucky money”. If your bank has crisp new bills they are best to use.
Serve and eat as many lucky foods as possible on the New Year. Some of these foods are whole fish, noodles and mandarin oranges. If you're not ready to cook Chinese food, most Chinese restaurants offer special New Year menus.
Don't cry on that day or raise your voice to your children or you'll be setting a tone of discord for the coming year.
Some fruit or flowers or candy for your Chinese teacher would be appreciated.
Lanterns and couplets written on red paper are common decorations. Fu means fortune, and it is shown here on a lantern and also in cursive.

Some Astrology
The Chinese Lunar Calendar names each of the twelve years after an animal. (Someone said perhaps that the years should more properly be numbered from 0 to 11!) The cycle is: rat/mouse, ox/cow, tiger, hare/rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, ram/sheep/goat, monkey, rooster/chicken, dog, pig/boar. That is within a larger 60 year cycle that started in 1984.
The year of the rat starting in 2008 began the current 12 year cycle, 2020 will start a new one.

Remember if someone was born between January 19th and February 21st, you can not tell their zodiac year unless you know the date of the Chinese New Year for their birth year. You may not want to discuss this in preschool classes – unless you are prepared for a very noisy room of animal sounds.

Some Chinese believe the animal ruling the year in which a person is born has a profound influence on personality, saying: "This is the animal that hides in your heart." Others use the zodiac just for fun. One legend has it that the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from earth. Only twelve came to bid him farewell and as a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. Another legend says that the years are named, in order, for the animals that raced for the Green Emperor.

There are a number of sites on the web with more information on the Chinese zodiac, Chinese New Year, and Chinese date converters. There are also solar to lunar date converters available for Palm Pilots.

Updated: March 2007, January 2011

Year of the Rabbit: February 3rd

2011-01-24T10:18:00.005-05:00

Are "rabbits" the happiest. gentlest of the zodiac signs?
Are crafts for the "Year of the Rabbit" the most adorable?

Rabbit Crafts
Preschool & up:
DLTK has 3 different "toilet paper roll" rabbits for ages 3 and up:

Rabbit (Easter) Toilet Paper Roll Craft
Rabbit TP Roll Craft #2
Rabbit TP Roll Craft #3

DLTK Paper Bunny basket/decoration

Coloring Pages

Child Book always has something: www.childbook.com (Thanks Ray!)
Rabbit Coloring Pages
(interactive/online) Chinese New Year Coloring Pages from Apples4theTeacher: Get out your interactive crayon and color these symbols of Chinese New Year, including: Year of the Rabbit, map of China, and flag of China. Color pages are printable and suitable for framing.

Elementary crafts

Stand up Bunny (ages 4-9)
Paper Simple Cute Rabbit
This refrigerator magnet bunnny is supposed to be easy enough for those who don't crochet to crochet!
Bead & wire bunny charm
Beaded safety pin crafts (hardest part can be finding pins without the circle crimp in the middle):
- Rabbit face pin
- Bunny Safety Pin craft

at least middle school?
how about some fun kirgami? Rabbit driving
cut paper: Rabbit with carrot

Advanced crafting:

3D origami: ballerina bunny
do you have time & patience for quilling, a craft that started in Europe during the Renaissance: Quilling Bunny

You may also want to see - and share with your students/children what expert papercutters can do. I adore this bunny at aj panda. (Reminded me of the "pulling turnip" song: "Ba Loubo").

Many of the crafts from other years are also applicable. Do search the site for ideas!

Jackie Chan CNY contest: 2011

2011-01-18T10:18:00.001-05:00

The Kids Corner Happy Chinese New Year Contest is on again!

Color or draw a Chinese New Year of the Rabbit greeting! Jackie will choose three winners in three categories: Kids ages 0 - 12, ages 13 - 17, and age 18 to adult. Each winner will receive a t-shirt autographed by Jackie Chan! Contest ends on February 2, 2011 at midnight.

Original drawings will be posted at the Kids Corner and Jackie will choose the winners. To enter, scan and email your drawing to their webmaster. Visit their site for details and to see past winning drawings.

Mid-Autumn Festival coming

2010-09-15T11:44:00.001-05:00

September 22, 2010 this year.

For more information including lesson plans & a way to request handouts, visit my Mid-autumn-festival blog.

CNY 2010 Essay contest (selected states only)

2010-02-19T11:37:00.001-05:00

Verizon is having an essay contest for the Lunar New Year. They are giving away $5,000, a global phone & gift cards. The contest is for ages 13-24. The only requirement is that you are a student. Please go to http://www.verizoninsider.com/education/ for more details.

No purchase necessary. Entries become property of Verizon Wireless. Entry period for contest begins 2/6/2010 and ends 3/12/2010. Open to legal U.S. residents whose primary residence is in one of the following states, and who are between the ages of 13 and 24 years old at the time of entry, and who are students enrolled at an accredited high school or college at the time of entry: AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, TX (City of El Paso only), UT, WA and WY. For Official Rules visit www.verizoninsider.com/education. Void where prohibited.

Origami Tigers

2010-02-17T09:40:00.007-05:00

There are a variety of origami tiger patterns, starting with the simple "fold a face" and decorate.

I like this two piece one, although a more traditional 2 piece tiger is shown in these YouTube videos: part 1 and part 2. There are pictures of some fierce paperfold tiger "faces" and masks online, if you don't think they would be too de-motivating.

Paperfold tigers!

Tiger (Origami-Instructions.com)

(Standing) Tiger (TP Kong) Diagrams for all 19 steps

3D Tiger crease pattern, but no instructions or diagrams (N Miyajima)

3D Tiger crease pattern (H Komatsu), no English on the site

Winged Tiger/Tigre alado (JA Voyer), diagrams for all 44 steps

Origami Tiger (pictures, no instructions)

You may also want to check out these dragon origami instructions.
(or if you need some tiger coloring pages to keep the youngest busy while you fold.)

For more see my Musical Mandarin Paperfolding entry.

2/14/2010

2010-02-10T09:40:00.001-05:00

Year of the Tiger

Happy Valentine's Day

and (Boy) Scout Sunday!

Lantern Festival 2009

2009-02-09T18:59:00.000-05:00

I hope you have a cloudless sky where-ever you are tonight.

Happy New Year

2009-01-26T08:45:00.001-05:00

Best wishes for this year! May this day find you with the ones you love.

Some 2009 Chinese New Year events (NJ-centric)

2009-01-03T21:52:00.006-05:00

NJPAC, Newark: Golden Dragon Acrobats, Sunday, February 22, 2009
From bending into improbable shapes to forming human pyramids on moving bicycles, this internationally acclaimed troupe celebrates Chinese culture with time-honored traditions that date back 25 centuries.

MHCS New Year Dance Party, January 24, 2009 (Saturday), Murray Hill Chinese Center (Contact Number for info & RSVPs: 908-660-4091, Email: principal@mhcs-nj.org), North Building, Watchung Hills Regional High School, 108 Stirling Road, Warren, NJ 07059

NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular 2009: (Visit http://nyspectacular.com/ for more information.)

Prudential Hall, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ. Ticket Prices: $118, $88, $77, $65, $40, $29.

Mon, January 26, 2009 7:30 PM
Tue, January 27, 2009 1:30 PM
Tue, January 27, 2009 7:30 PM

or State Theatre in New Brunswick, (15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901). $88, $65, $50, $35.

Sat, January 24, 2009 8:00 PM

Sun, January 25, 2009 2:00 PM
Sun, January 25, 2009 7:00 PM

I am sure that virtually all of the local weekend Chinese schools will be having events, but you may have to contact each school to learn details.

There are many events in New York City, including:

Chinese New Year Festivities: Lion Dance *,February 1, 2009 (Sunday), 11:00 am - 12:00 pm, China Institute in America (125 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065, Tel. 212.744.8181)

MOCANYC.org (70 Mulberry Street 2nd floor @ Bayard St. NY, NY 10013)

Lunar New Year Arts Festival, Children’s Museum of the Arts, 182 Lafayette Street (b/w Grand & Broome), $10/each, Sun, Jan 18 from 12 noon – 5pm
Lunar New Year Customs and Symbols, Thu, Jan 22 from 7pm – 8:30pm
Lunar New Year Papercutting, Sat, Jan 24 from 2:30pm – 4pm
Stories and Music of the Lunar New Year, Thu, Jan 29 from 4pm – 5:30pm (Join the Museum of Chinese in America and Seward Park Library for a fun after school storytelling, music, and art workshop featuring author, musician, and artist Mingmei Yip.)

For more around the country & the world, see Ray's great listing at Childbook.com.

2009 Lunar Calendar

2008-12-31T15:01:00.004-05:00

Our annual pdf file showing the year's phases of the moon is ready. If you would like a copy, please post a comment with your email, or email me.

I love the look but it really helps show how each month of the Chinese calendar begins with a new moon. If there is a full moon, one knows it is the 15th of the lunar calendar. Children - and adults - always want to look at it when I take it anywhere.

Share ideas about how you use it!

Resources for Chinese New Year

2008-12-01T11:45:00.000-05:00

Books appropriate for Chinese New Year.

My pages of CNY resources:

Other Website Resources:
Books do not change significantly from edition to edition but websites can and do. I am in no way responsible for the content of other websites, but here are some I liked when I last saw them:

Wikipedia's Chinese New Year entry
Prof. Roth's Chinese New Year page
Web holidays's Chinese New Year
Chinese Culture Center's New Year Page

Last Updated: January 2009.

and the cycle rolls on...

2008-11-01T09:49:00.000-05:00

Mid-Autumn Festival is behind us, and even the Diwali, the first festival of lights in the fall that I know is fading behind us. This means that many Hindus have started their new year and the countdown to Chinese New Year continues.

Autumn Moon 2008

2008-08-15T18:03:00.002-05:00

The 2nd most celebrated Chinese festival is Mid-Autumn Festival, and it's only about one moon away now. This year lunar 8/15 falls on September 14th, 2008

You may want to start looking for mooncakes at the Chinese grocery store, review Mid-Autumn Festival information, decide whether you want to go into your child's school to celebrate, or even start talking to their teachers (the sooner the better on that one since it is "early" this year. I suspect many teachers might be happiest with just a special snack as they will be still getting their own routines set). Or, surprise some friends online with e-cards. You can set up today to be delivered on September 14th!

We still have a pdf file of 2008 showing how the phases of the moon compare to the 2008 calendar. If you would like a copy, please post a comment with your email, or email me.

"August Moon Names"

2008-08-02T18:11:00.002-05:00

As I read the Chinese calendar, we are still in the lunisolar term "major heat" but almost to the "start of Autumn". Some non-Chinese websites say that the Chinese call this month "Harvest Moon".

According to India's National civil calendar, today starts the month of Shraavan.
In the Hebrew calendar, we are in the month of Av.
On the Islamic calendar, we are in the month of SHa`baan.

Keith's Moon Page has a list of Full Moon Names that include: Native American, Chinese, New Guinean Colonial American, English Medieval and Neo-Pagan. Sadly, he lists the full moon names by months, when we know most of the cultures did not date them that way. The Crystal Forest monthly moon name suffers from the same dating problem. I still love to see all of the different names together.

English Medieval: Corn Moon
Celtic: Dispute Moon
Colonial American: Dog Day's Moon
Native American (Cherokee): Harvest Moon
Native American (Choctaw): Women's Moon
Native American (Dakotah Sioux): Moon When All Things Ripen
Neo Pagan: Lightening Moon

Got storage?

2008-02-24T20:22:00.002-05:00

Is anyone - preferably in Northern NJ - interested in some Chinese New Year decoration, etc. ? especially from Year of the Pig? Some of us have collected more than we can store and would be willing to pass them on.

Happy New Year (2008/4706)

2008-02-07T09:40:00.000-05:00

The US Postal Service had their Chinese New Year stamps available in advance this year - in case anyone wanted to sue them to send New Year's cards or hong bao!

Google has a string of firecrackers on their search pages.

In China, at least the Guanzhou government seems to have really stepped up to make Chinese New Year better for those who could not get home to their families. More child-friendly, China view has some nice celebration pictures. I especially like page 2.

BBC has the Lunar New Year: In Pictures. I like the close-up of making dumplings.

This year, I discovered, I am not keeping up wit the times. tjmommy has the video and mixed media list of Chinese New Year.

Year of the Rat stamps

2008-02-04T11:19:00.001-05:00

Photos and pictures of the new Year of the Rat stamps are all over.

I really like China's Year of the Rat stamp this year. Xin hua net's pictures

Singapore calls their Year of the Rat stamp charming. I could not find a good picture of the Australian Year of the Rat stamp. Although Rat is first, the Rat Wraps up Canada Post's Lunar Stamp Series of 12 stamps.

The USA is starting a new series -- but it seems you really have to be in the know to recognize this is a Year of the Rat stamp. Sometime, maybe they will issue them & get them to post offices early enough for people to use them when they send out New Year's cards & any hong boa to relatives farther away. Official Press Release and USPS fact sheet.

Disney: Year of the Mouse

2008-02-03T11:35:00.000-05:00

I actually find Mickey banner with him all dressed up "Chinese" that Shanghaiist and other have on their sites, cute. However, I am saddened at Disney's success in cashing in. They have more than 70 "Year of the Mouse" pieces on sale at Hong Kong Disneyland (Chinese site). Laughing Place has an artice on Year of the Mouse at Disney (USA& Hong Kong) with pictures for English speakers.

Hot Toys has at least 2 sizes of Disney "Year of the Mouse Collectibles. I saw them first at onesixthwarriors (11 inch and 1/6th scale "action figures"). They are scheduel to come our 2nd Quarter. Official photos:

Tibetan New Year

2008-02-02T11:11:00.000-05:00

This year Chinese New Year and Tibetan New Year coincide and begin on February 7th. According to the Tibetan calendar, the year 2008 will be the year of "Tushu" or "earth rat".

NJ Chinese New Year Events

2008-01-14T09:37:00.000-05:00

Just a sampling:

(yes, this one is in NYC, the rest really are in NJ) Museum of Chinese in America, Preparing for the Lunar New Year in Chinatown Walking Tours:
Sat, Jan 26 from 1pm – 2:30pm
Sat, Feb 2 from 1pm – 2:30pm
Sat, Feb 9 from 1pm – 2:30pm
Witness how Chinatown transforms itself in preparation for the Lunar New Year. Learn about the traditions and customs observed by Chinese households and discover the significance of red envelopes, foods and decorations. Enjoy the sights, smells, sounds and tastes of Chinatown in the most festive tour of the year!
Where: Tours begin at MOCA @ 70 Mulberry Street, 2nd Floor
Fee: $12/Adult; $10 Student and Senior; $6/MOCA members; free/Children
5 and under. Advanced reservations required. Call (212) 619-4785 or email info@mocanyc.org. Please include the number and name of guests; date of tour; and contact phone number.
Museum of Chinese in America, 70 Mulberry Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10013
T: 212.619.4785 x101, F: 212.619.4720, www.mocanyc.org
Chinese New Year Gala, Hua Xia Plainsboro Chinese School. Saturday, January 19, 2008, 7 p.m. to 6 p.m. West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, Grover Mill Road, Plainsboro 609-468-4650

Full stage production features musicians, magicians, martial artists, singers, and dancers. Yang Yi performs on the guzheng, a 21-string zither. Zhao Changiun demonstrates martial arts. Li Xin, a Beijing opera artist, portrays the Monkey King. Wennie Niu and Siu Chin perform Broadway tunes and opera. The Lion Dance opens the show. $10 to $30.

Parsippany-Troy Hills Public Library, and the Chinese-American Community present A Chinese New Year Community present A Chinese New Year Celebration, Saturday, February 2, 2008, 1:30 - 3:30. This drop-in program includes: Folk Dance, Folk Songs, Face Painting, ice Game, Farmers Hat, Calligraphy, Origami, Brush Holder's, Crafts and more.

Celebrate the Chinese New Year, “The Year of the Rat,” with a program of traditional and contemporary music and dance Feb. 8, 2009 by New Jersey-based dancer-choreographer Nai-Ni Chen including a 12 course Chinese dinner. For information call 800-650-0246
http://www.nainichen.org/YearoftheRat/

February 9, 10: New Jersey Performing Arts Center,Victoria Theater,Chinese New Year Celebration: The Year of the Rat, Newark, NJ, New Jersey Performing Arts Center
February 24,Cumberland County College, Frank Guaracini Jr. Fine & Performing Arts Center, Vineland, NJ, Cumberland County College.
(Event in Chinese?) The Chinese community in Livingston, New Jersey is warming up as the Chinese Lunar New Year approaches. In order to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year, the Year of Dog, as well as thousands of years of culture and history, the Livingston Chinese Culture Day (LCCD) 2008 will be held on Saturday, February ?, 2008 from 4 pm to 11 pm at Livingston High School. The event is open to all who are interested. Tickets are on sale now. Please contact Xiuxian Li (973)758-1989, Rebacca Sheng (973) 535- 1452, or Jame Lee (973)535-1139 for ticket information. (OK, this confuses me, the zodiac goes dog... pig... and the cycle starts again this year with rat.)

Sources included:

Childbook.com's great list of events, thanks Ray! (For events in the rest of the USA & the world, go to his list of Events, Parades & Festivals, and see if I missed anything!)

Events in Chinese from Sino Monthly

Stuff for New Year's

2008-01-13T17:40:00.000-05:00

Chris noticed this hong bao lantern kit was on sale from a catalog we trust. Of course, shipping & handling would be more than the current price for the kit! For those in the USA, $9 would get you:

90 envelopes ( enough to make three different ornaments, with 15 envelopes left over for secrets, poems, notes, or the traditional coins or dollars)
1 yard of cord
3 tassels
300 adhesive stickers
Detailed, step-by-step, illustrated instructions for making the three ornaments.

hmmm... HearthSong also has their "zoo stick" attached chopsticks on sale. We finally broke one after at least 4 years of regular use - for Montessori-style pick up work as well as eating & many, many cycles through the dishwasher, which is probably not the best way to make them last.

Be careful what you are buying - Year of the Pig items should be on sale since you'd have to hold on to them for 11 years - but I noticed they are regular price at Oriental Trading still. I vote their Chinese Shirt Gift Bags the cutest, and their Design Your Own! Chinese New Year Dragon Accordion Cards "most likely for me to buy" of the Chinese New Year items. If I had a regular classroom, I would be tempted by their "Dragon Bulletin Board Puzzle". If you search for "Chinese" instead of "Chinese New Year", you might be as surprised as I was to see brush sets listed. I can't tell what quality or how long to expect them to last.

Of course, you will find higher quality things at China Sprout's Chinese New Year Page and lots of interesting things in your local Chinatown, or on Pearl River's Chinese New Year's page.

My friend Betsy usually reminds me that now, a few weeks beforehand, it the time to go to Chinatown to get new couplets and door guards for the coming year.

Year of the Rat sneakers?

2008-01-09T00:10:00.000-05:00

Nike and Reebok have Year of the Rat sneakers. I will admit it still seems strange to me. Nike has a "Year of the Rat" hoodie too, that does not strike me quite as odd somehow.

Ready for the Rat?

2008-01-08T23:34:00.000-05:00

The Year of the Rat begins Thursday, February 7^th, 2008 (lunar 1/1)

If you are hosting a party, going into the schools, or planning on getting new red clothes, you may want to really start thinking about it.

12/20 lunar (January 29?, 2008) should be set aside for the annual housecleaning and 3 days later on February 1st, the kitchen god will be going up to report. You can (and perhaps should) get your hair cut now or then - but not during the first two weeks of the New Year. Most of the year, my lunar calendar is beautiful, but now I need to refer to it (Email me for one).

February 21^st ‘should’ find you preparing for the Lantern festival, which begins on the 15^th night, which is 2/22 this year.

The two week period of Chinese New Year includes Valentine’s Day this year, so there will be lots of red around. However, if you plan on ‘teaching’ the holiday or going into the schools, keep in mind that is often a big event for them, and not every teacher can support two or three parties in two weeks!

Childbook lists over 100 CNY events!

2008-01-08T23:15:00.000-05:00

ChildBook.com's list of Chinese New Year Events across the US and Canada for 2008 now has more tahn 100 events. Locations for events range from a Joss House in Evanton, Wyoming to the largest Chinese New Year Parade parade in San Francisco to Washington DC to New York City. Celebrations range from dances to performances to parades.

Chinese New Year Information on www.childbook.com includes recommended the calendar of events, recommended books (many of which you can buy from them) and a reference back to this blog!

Full disclosure: I am a satisfied customer, but have no business relationship with them.

CNY graphics online

2008-01-03T13:52:00.000-05:00

I got this from CyArena.com, CNY graphics

My concern with all the free graphics out there is that I can't know what other graphics they offer, no one I can go through all of them, so use your own discretion before having your little ones troll the site!

"January Moon Names"

2008-01-03T11:15:00.001-05:00

Keith's Moon Page has a list of Full Moon Names that include: Native American, Chinese, New Guinean Colonial American, English Medieval and Neo-Pagan. Sadly, he lists the full moon names by months, when we know most of the cultures did not date them that way. The Crystal Forest monthly moon name suffers from the same dating problem. I still love to see all of the different names together.

Both sites list the "Chinese Name" for the January moon as: Holiday Moon

English Medieval: Wolf Moon
Celtic: Quite Moon
New Guinea: Rainbow Fish Moon
Colonial American: Winter Moon
Native American (Cherokee): Cold Moon
Native American (Choctaw): Cooking Moon
Native American (Dakotah Sioux): Moon of the Terrible
Neo Pagan: Ice Moon
Hindu: Paush Poornima
unknown: Moon After Yule

Anime New Year's Greetings

2008-01-02T00:27:00.000-05:00

Japan has celebrated the New Year on 1/1 for many years now - but they often have references to the upcoming Chinese zodiac year at the same time.

I am loving manga illustrator Kenjirou Hata's greetings for the New Year. I found it a little way down on Anime News Networks' New Year's Greetings. "(In the third picture, the caption pointing to Nagi's hair says, "There's rats inside.")" It may move around a bit as other greetings are added to the same page - there were 21 when I just looked.

Notes for Parents

2007-12-23T11:16:00.000-05:00

You may care more about sharing Chinese heritage and Chinese New Year information than anyone else involved with your child's class -- but you might not know the most, and either way there may be other parents who are interested in joining with you. It is might be better in the long run if you talk to some other parents before going ahead and deciding "everything". I have found that the parent who knows the most, or who has the best ideas may not have the time, temperament, or confidence in their language skills to present to a class.

Work together. Build a community.

I like to read a bit more about any topic - so I am more likely to have an answer to questions that might come up. That's why I try to include extra references to books and other websites throughout so that you can do the same.

Abacus example: While I doubt I will ever help children make an abacus out of O-shaped cereal, if I did I would want to practice using an abacus, read about abacus math, and learn the difference between a Chinese and Japanese abacus before I went into the classroom. If you go that route, you may want to skim something like these abacus pages:

Abacus Museum
PBS's mathline on abacus

(I could see having them make one out of beads instead of cereal.)

Last updated: January 2009

e-cards for CNY

2007-12-18T15:55:00.000-05:00

For the 2008 Year of the Rat, at least the following places have e-cards:

Discover Hong Kong
cards online from the star
123 Greetings.com, and www.123greetings.com
Blue Mountain Cards, who still have Year of the Pig cards listed. Don't get caught - remember this year is the Rat or Mouse.
care 2 (who will want you to sign petitions later, I'll bet), and
Hallmark lists 4 free (interactive?) cards.

With most, if not all of these, you can set them up now to be mailed on the 18th... or 17th... so you do not need to remember. I have no association with any of these places, do not profit from this in any way, and am not responsible for their content - but I would not mind getting a card if you write a note with it!

2008 Lunar Calendar Available

2007-11-29T00:18:00.000-05:00

We've created a pdf file showing how the phases of the moon compare to the 2008 calendar. If you would like a copy, please post a comment with your email, or email me.

I love the look but really it is to help us see how each month of the Chinese calendar begins with a new moon. If there is a full moon, one knows it is the 15th of the lunar calendar. Children - and adults - always want to look at it when I take it anywhere. This year we've added the day of the week inside each moon. Let me know what you think.

Dance Asia's ready for the Year of the Boar

2007-10-22T17:35:00.000-05:00

I am thinking about the Year of the Rat myself, and over half done with the Pig, but maybe they will update their shows the year gets closer?

I just learned about this show which is touring the USA - Dance Asia is a professional Chinese Peking Opera dance production featuring Qi Shu Fang. Suggested for grades 1- 6. About an hour long. Get the Study buddy ,Ring in the Year of the Boar with international star Qi Shu Fang ("Chee-Shoo-Fong") and her remarkable troupe of Asian dancers. Featuring brilliantly flowing ribbons, a dancing lion, and amazing acrobatics and martial arts, Miss Qi and the dancers perform dazzling feats of athleticism and agility that continue to thrill audiences of all ages! Check out where in the USA this may be near you, and then you can make reservations via http://www.artspower.org/field-trips-how-to-order-seats.htm .

The cycle starts with Rat

2007-09-14T12:12:00.000-05:00

Some of us may need to start now to memorize how to fold a nice rat before the New Year. Of course there are many other ways to fold a mouse and Origami ideas for the whole zodiac.

Is Autumn here?

2007-08-30T10:08:00.001-05:00

The 2nd most celebrated Chinese festival is Mid-Autumn Festival, and it's one moon away now. This year lunar 8/15 falls on September 25th.

You may want to start looking for mooncakes at the Chinese grocery store, review Mid-Autumn Festival information, decide whether you want to go into your child's school to celebrate, or even start talking to their teachers. Or, surprise some friends online with e-cards. You can set up today to be delivered on September 25th!

Summer Solstice!

2007-06-21T13:02:00.000-05:00

The longest day of the year. The extreme of the sun's height, 夏至
xiàzhì is the 10th solar term of the year. "Minor heat" and "Major heat" are ahead of us.

Still not halfway to the next Chinese New Year.

Festival phrases

2007-05-25T07:34:00.000-05:00

Life in China has a section on phrases for "Festival and holidays"[sic]. Of course the most are for Chinese New Year, Spring Festival.

Celina put an interesting culture note in her entries that says, "In the old days, New Year's money was given in the form of one hundred copper coins strung together on a red string and symbolized the hope that one would live to be a hundred years old. Today, money is placed inside red envelopes in denominations considered auspicious and given to represent luck and wealth".

Occasional Pig

2007-04-12T23:45:00.000-05:00

From chrsitmasmyspace.com Graphics

I just could not resist these pigs from www.ChristmasMySpace.Com
They have quite a few other graphics, sadly including a few that are sexist.

Chinese New Year Dates - from 1900

2007-04-12T12:29:00.000-05:00

This list is mostly to help those who ask, "What is my Chinese Zodiac Sign?" especially in they are born between January 19 - February 21. The elements are also given.

These dates are listed from most recent to 1900, so the zodiac cycle is "upside down". Rat is first: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep. Monkey, Chicken, Dog, and Pig.

For future dates, see Future Chinese New Year Dates.

2008 Thursday, February 7^th - (Earth) Brown Rat 4706

2007 February 18 - (Fire) Red Pig 4705
2006 January 29 - (Fire) Red Dog 4704
2005 February 9 – (Wood) Green Chicken 4703
2004 January 22 – (Wood) Green Monkey 4702
2003 February 1 – (Water) Black Sheep 4701
2002 February 12 - (Water) Black Horse 4670
2001 January 24 – (Metal) White Snake 4669
2000 February 5 – (Metal) White (Golden) Dragon 4668
1999 February 16 - 2000 February 4 - Earth Rabbit
1998 January 28 - 1999 February 15 - Earth Tiger
1997 February 7 - 1998 January 27 - Fire Ox
1996 February 19 - 1997 February 6 - Fire Rat

1995 January 31 - 1996 February 18 - Wood Pig
1994 February 10 - 1995 January 30 - Wood Dog
1993 January 23 - 1994 February 9 - Water Rooster
1992 February 4 - 1993 January 22 - Water Monkey
1991 February 15 - 1992 February 3 - Metal Goat
1990 January 27 - 1991 February 14 - Metal Horse
1989 February 6 - 1990 January 26 - Earth Snake
1988 February 17 - 1989 February 5 - Earth Dragon
1987 January 29 - 1988 February 16 - Fire Rabbit
1986 February 9 - 1987 January 28 - Fire Tiger
1985 February 20 - 1986 February 8 - Wood Ox
1984 February 2 - 1985 February 19 - Wood Rat

1983 February 13 - 1984 February 1 - Water Pig
1982 January 25 - 1983 February 12 - Water Dog
1981 February 5 - 1982 January 24 - Metal Rooster
1980 February 16 - 1981 February 4 - Metal Monkey
1979 January 28 - 1980 February 15 - Earth Goat
1978 February 7 - 1979 January 27 - Earth Horse
1977 February 18 - 1978 February 6 - Fire Snake
1976 January 31 - 1977 February 17 – Fire Dragon
1975 February 11 - 1976 January 30 - Wood Rabbit
1974 January 23 - 1975 February 10 - Wood Tiger
1973 February 3 - 1974 January 22 - Water Ox
1972 February 15 - 1973 February 2 - Water Rat

1971 January 27 - 1972 February 14 - Metal Pig
1970 February 6 - 1971 January 26 - Metal Dog
1969 February 17 - 1970 February 5 - Earth Rooster
1968 January 30 - 1969 February 16 - Earth Monkey
1967 February 9 - 1968 January 29 - Fire Goat
1966 January 21 - 1967 February 8 - Fire Horse
1965 February 2 - 1966 January 20 - Wood Snake
1964 February 13 - 1965 February 1 - Wood Dragon
1963 January 25 - 1964 February 12 - Water Rabbit
1962 February 5 - 1963 January 24 - Water Tiger
1961 February 15 - 1962 February 4 - Metal Ox
1960 January 28 - 1961 February 14 - Metal Rat

1959 February 8 - 1960 January 27 - Earth Pig
1958 February 18 - 1959 February 7 - Earth Dog
1957 January 31 - 1958 February 17 - Fire Rooster
1956 February 12 - 1957 January 30 - Fire Monkey
1955 January 24 - 1956 February 11 - Wood Goat
1954 February 3 - 1955 January 23 - Wood Horse
1953 February 14 - 1954 February 2 – Water Snake
1952 January 27 - 1953 February 13 - Water Dragon
1951 February 6 - 1952 January 26 - Metal Rabbit
1950 February 17 - 1951 February 5 - Metal Tiger
1949 January 29 - 1950 February 16 - Earth Ox
1948 February 10 - 1949 January 28 - Earth Rat

1947 January 22 - 1948 February 9 - Fire Pig
1946 February 2 - 1947 January 21 - Fire Dog
1945 February 13 - 1946 February 1 - Wood Rooster
1944 January 25 - 1945 February 12 - Wood Monkey
1943 February 5 - 1944 January 24 - Water Goat
1942 February 15 - 1943 February 4 - Water Horse
1941 January 27 - 1942 February 14 - Metal Snake
1940 February 8 - 1941 January 26 - Metal Dragon
1939 February 19 - 1940 February 7 - Earth Rabbit
1938 January 31 - 1939 February 18 - Earth Tiger
1937 February 11 - 1938 January 30 - Fire Ox

1936 January 24 - 1937 February 10 - Fire Rat
1935 February 4 - 1936 January 23 - Wood Pig
1934 February 14 - 1935 February 3 - Wood Dog
1933 January 26 - 1934 February 13 - Water Rooster
1932 February 6 - 1933 January 25 - Water Monkey
1931 February 17 - 1932 February 5 - Metal Goat
1930 January 30 - 1931 February 16 - Metal Horse
1929 February 10 - 1930 January 29 - Earth Snake
1928 January 23 - 1929 February 9 - Earth Dragon
1927 February 2 - 1928 January 22 – Fire Rabbit
1926 February 13 - 1927 February 1 - Fire Tiger
1925 January 25 - 1926 February 12 - Wood Ox
1924 February 5 - 1925 January 24 - Wood Rat

1923 February 16 - 1924 February 4 - Water Pig
1922 January 28 - 1923 February 15 - Water Dog
1921 February 8 - 1922 January 27 - Metal Rooster
1920 February 20 - 1921 February 7 – Metal Monkey
1919 February 1 - 1920 February 19 - Earth Goat
1918 February 11 - 1919 January 31 - Earth Horse
1917 January 23 - 1918 February 10 - Fire Snake
1916 February 3 - 1917 January 22 - Fire Dragon
1915 February 14 - 1916 February 2 - Wood Rabbit
1914 January 26 - 1915 February 13 – Wood Tiger
1913 February 6 - 1914 January 25 - Water Ox
1912 February 18 - 1913 February 5 – Water Rat

1911 January 30 - 1912 February 17 - Metal Pig
1910 February 10 - 1911 January 29 - Metal Dog
1909 January 22 - 19010 February 9 - Earth Rooster
1908 February 2 - 1909 January 21 - Earth Monkey
1907 February 13 - 1908 February 1 – Fire Goat
1906 January 25 - 1907 February 12 - Fire Horse
1905 February 4 - 1906 January 24 – Wood Snake
1904 February 16 - 1905 February 3 – Wood Dragon
1903 January 29 - 1904 February 15 - Water Rabbit
1902 February 8 - 1903 January 28 – Water Tiger
1901 February 19 - 1902 February 7 – Metal Ox
1900 January 31 - 1901 February 18 – Metal Rat

Future Chinese New Year dates

2007-04-08T12:43:00.000-05:00

For previous dates, see Chinese New Year Dates from 1900.

2008 Thursday, February 7^th - Jan. 28, 2009 - (Earth) Brown Rat 4706
2009 Monday, January 26^th - (Earth) Brown Ox 4707
2010 February 14^th - (Metal) White Tiger 4708
2011 February 3^rd - (Metal) White Hare 4709
2012 January 23^th - (Water) Dragon 4710
2013 February 10^th - (Water) Snake 4711
2014 January 31^st - (Wood) Horse 4712
2015 February 19^th - (Wood) Sheep 4713
2016 February 8^th - (Fire) Monkey 4714
2017 January 28^th - (Fire) Chicken 4715
2018 February 16^th - (Earth) Dog 4716
2019 February 5^th - (Earth) Pig 4717

last updated: April 2007

Chinese New Year - 2007

2007-03-21T08:20:00.000-05:00

The Year of the Red Fire Pig was greeted with parades and fireworks around the world - and in some places few pigs. In Malaysia and China where there are large Muslim populations, the governments decided that the pig should not be featured much. In China, pigs were not allowed in Chinese New Year TV ads!

closer to home: Even my 6 year old knows that there is no "year of the panda", and I got a thank you note from a Jewish friend for featuring a pig in the Chinese New Year card I made for them.

This years' pictures include:

National Geographic photo of folk artists who performed on stilts.
Still from BBC on London's Chinese New Year celebrations
Vancouver Chinese New Year parade photos
SanFrancisco's Chinese New Year parade
China View's photos
Video from Liverpool, England parade

More to come. . .

Chinese New Year Foods

2007-03-03T23:53:00.000-05:00

According a 2000 Hong Kong government report, Chinese New Year "signifies hope and joy". "A number of special foods are taken during this period as part of the celebration and they exemplify strong local features. " Most Hong Kong residents are from Southern China. Their Chinese New Year food reflects the Guangdong (Cantonese) cultures. The Hong Kong government classifies Hong Kong Chinese New Year Foods into five main categories:

steamed puddings (Sweet puddings of flour, sugar, and perhaps vegetables or coconut milk and salty/savoury puddings of flour, preserved meat, turnip or taro),
fried dumplings,
sweetened fruits and vegetables,
glutinous rice balls and
seeds.

The focus of their Safe Food Report was actually the food preservatives and colorings found in Chinese New Year foods in 1996 - 1999.

Whole fish, practically a requirement for new Year's eve dinner, was not listed at all. If you are Cantonese - or a boater - do not turn the fish over. You do not want to capsize your boat! After eating one side of the fish, remove the bone and eat the other side - but not all of it. Save some for "new year" - the next day. You want to ensure prosperity - but always having [more/extra fish]. "Fish" and "Extra" sound the same in Chinese.

In Northern China dumplings(jiaozi) are common, perhaps especially for New Year's eve. Long life noodles are eaten for Chinese New Year in some parts of China. I have taken noodles in - with grated carrots, grated cucumber, and sauce on the side to preschools and mixed-age school groups. Last time, we looked at this Long Life Noodle recipe before heading out to shop for ingredients. I always tell them what is in it and never substituted peanut butter for sesame paste (tahini) due to potential allergy issues.

Nian gao (sticky rice cakes) are more common in the south - where more rice is grown.

Someone on the faculty at the University of Victoria posted a more traditional look at Chinese New Year foods and their symbolism. Asian Art Museum has a two-page Fruits and Flowers for Chinese New Year brochure online that discusses a lot of symbolism. For more on foods special to Chinese New Year, read Wikipedia's Chinese New Year Food entry.

Courage, Compassion and Cooperation

2007-03-01T21:34:00.000-05:00

This is new to me – a service for Chinese New Year. Unitarian Universalist Association has a clearing house packet (now called Faith Works). Part of its goal is to inspire faith development, and connect ethical and spiritual practices. In Spring 2000, they had a piece on Courage, Compassion and Cooperation which highlighted the Chinese New Year.

I like it. If you do, you may also find a way to use the lesson plans at Learning to Give, not just the one Chinese New Year using the book Sam and the Lucky Money. Their goals are to to educate youth about the power of philanthropy (sharing time, talent and treasure) and empower young people to make a difference in their school, their community and their world!

CNY Songs on YouTube

2007-02-21T09:37:00.000-05:00

Some cute Happy New Year songs in Mandarin:

Chinese New Year Song 01 (with Chinese subtitles)

Chinese New Year Song (02)

Chinese New Year Song (04)

Chinese New Year Song (05)

Please check that you have your parent's permission to watch these on YouTube before you click.

Celebrating the Chinese New Year e-book

2007-02-20T19:49:00.000-05:00

The China School in New York City has a cute e-book, titled Celebrating the Chinese New Year available for free - and the promise of more coming. It is also available through the China Initiative.

Happy New Year's Eve!

2007-02-17T15:35:00.000-05:00

Chinese New Year is probably celebrated by a quarter of the world now and is the biggest celebration of the Chinese community.

In addition to the 12-year zodiac animal cycle, there is a cycle of five elements making a 60 year cycle. This year was a Red Dog year and tomorrow will be a Red Pig or a Fire Pig year. This year is Dīnghài 丁亥, the 24th year of the Sexagenary Cycle (1887, 1947, 2007, etc.) I think we started hearing more about the bigger cycle in 2000, a "Golden Dragon Year". (Yes, I heard the odd rumor of it being a “Golden Pig” but it is just a rumor, perhaps started by some fortune tellers in Korea. No folklorists will support it.)

Monday, January 29, 2006 started a Red (Fire) Dog Year, 4704
Sunday, February 18, 2007 begins a Red (Fire) Pig Year, 4705

The next 12-year cycle starts on:
Thursday, February 7, 2008 with a Brown (Earth) Rat Year, 4706.

A Fire Pig year is good for expanding families and businesses. Feng shui experts say that this Year of the Pig will be a turbulent year and not peaceful, but it may be a good year for scholars.

In Japan I have been told that 2007 corresponds to Heisei 19, and while it is also a year of the Pig for them, many reports say they prefer the “Year of the Wild Boar”.

(I hear that that a golden pig year might not be so good for expanding businesses.) The Year of the Dog was supposed to be a good year to be married – but I have learned that in some parts of China, the divorce rate went up too, especially for newly married! Perhaps some who rushed into marriage for the year of the dog(?) decided it was a mistake. Regardless, they are no longer married and don’t have to decide whether it would be good for them to have a child this year.

China Daily reports that it may not be the best year to have a child in China. "Many couples are planning to have children during the next lunar year in anticipation of good luck, but the Year of the Pig baby boom may result in a rise in population that will affect children's future education, job prospects and even retired lives.” (Or see a China empire's prettier post of the same article.)

Bill Hadju, at Chinese astrology.com says that "Health issues vary not only by sign but by individual. Your best bet is to visit a Chinese doctor to have your balances checked and get some advice for the coming year. It is a Fire year, so one thing we can say in general is to be on the lookout for signs of stress and a tendency to overextend one's self." Not bad advise for many of us - in any year!

Spring Festival Prep Pictures

2007-02-16T10:43:00.000-05:00

A few photos from Xin Hua Net:

Gold Pigs Deliver Blessings: Three "golden pigs" deliver blessings in a parterre in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, Feb.7. The Chinese lunar New Year will fall on Feb.18, and this year is the Year of the Pig in China. (Cnsphoto)

Spring Festival, lunar New Year coming

Folk culture fair for Spring Festival (another snap of the sugar painting-lollipops that I love to see)

New Spin on Old Tricks

2007-02-16T10:28:00.000-05:00

Steve Whan's Focus on Culture consistently delivers interesting child-friendly articles. This week's selection includes: New Spin on Old Tricks about the members of the China National Acrobatic Troupe.

"The world's best acrobats had returned to their motherland and were preparing for the upcoming series of shows during the Spring Festival season in Tiandi Theater.

It is rare to see so many Chinese acrobatic stars together because for most of the year they are scattered across the world delighting audience with their breathtaking feats.

Now they're back in Beijing bringing the traditional Chinese acrobatic classic tricks they used to thrill foreign audiences. There are contortionists, plate spinners, wirewalkers, hoop divers, diabolo players, vase balancers, ball jugglers and bicycle riders. "The whole performance will be filled with a jolly holiday atmosphere," said Lei Mingxia, acting director of The Return of The Spirit." To read the rest. . .

I was especially interesting in what one performer said about how the Chinese Yoyo is used - in China versus abroad (where it is more likely to be called a diabolo).

You can see a Chinese Yoyo clip at CCTV 2007 Chinese New Year Celebration: Acrobatics.

In the schools - 2007

2007-02-15T08:59:00.000-05:00

Lots of lunar calendars going to school . . .

Laurie's taking it in for some first graders. Cathy's doing both her boys' classes! Pat took the calendar, a book & a craft in. Beth's using the calendar and coloring pages. Martha's talking to 5th graders. Linda's going in for her 5th year. Jean's a teacher and she'll have 6th and 7th graders make up their own calendar system.

This year, I'm celebrating Chinese New Year with a homeschoolers from kindergarten to 6th grade.
They'll have craft stations for: Paperfolding Pigs, Chun (spring) paper cut, making lanterns, Chinese double knot, and finger counting. (Some of the older students are running the stations!) We'll have a discussion of holidays in general (food, family gathering, ...) before learning about the lunar calendar and Chinese New Year. After a New Year's feast of noodles and jiaozi, some students will be putting on a play based on Eric Kimmel's The Rooster's Antlers. Then I'll teach some Mandarin songs and we'll close with a lantern parade.

Stephanie plans to talk about Chinese New Year and the lunar calendar to a group of 1st and 2nd year olds. Then the plan is to darken the room and try to show how the phases of the moon are created with some balls and a flashlight!

Charlie is going in again this year - Last year the kids loved it, especially the panda project and trying to eat popcorn with chopsticks. We talk about China a little in addition to the New Year's celebration. We'll show portions of 2 videos, sing the Ni Hao song, and read a children's book titled, My First Chinese New Year. We'll also teach them to count to 10 in Chinese.

I am sure that Beth is going in again but I don't know her specific plans.

Kitchen God reports - tomorrow

2007-02-11T21:14:00.000-05:00

This year the Kitchen God returns to heaven on Monday, February 12th, 2007 (on the 24th day of the 12th month of the lunar year), to report to the Jade Emperor on the family's behavior during the past year. (If you still need a lunar calendar, you can send email to mus-mandarin@wubison.com to get a pdf version for 2007.) Some say that his picture is burned on the 23rd and he reports on the 24th.

Traditionally Chinese families made offerings to send him off so that he will provide a good report. Some families worship the Kitchen God with offerings of homemade candies, rice cakes, dates, walnuts and fried beans. They may also burn fodder as a symbolic way to feed the Kitchen God's horse. Some families made additional offerings of sweets or of sweets or smeared honey on his lips so he would say sweet things to the Jade Emperor about the family. In some families, he was fed sticky things (like nian gao rice cakes) so that he can not say much of anything! (Think about how much you can say with a spoonful of peanut butter in your mouth.)

Herbal Shop's sticky cake recipe

Each year, each family needed to get a new (paper picture of the) kitchen god - the old one was burned and his messages went up with the smoke. The Kitchen God is guardian of the hearth, inventor of fire and censor of morals, and he is made of paper or other materials that burn easily. Most practicing families do not replace it until t New Year's Day, so for one week, there is no kitchen god, his place is empty.

This year someone said that if we were only going to buy (or make) 3 things for Chinese New Year, they should all be paper:

a new kitchen god,
door guardians, and
chun lian couplets.

I don't know - we really like eating (long noodles, jiaozi, citrus) and having hong bao to give to children.

Paperfold Pigs

2007-01-26T10:28:00.000-05:00

"Origami" is a Japanese term, but paper folding is also a Chinese activity. Some say that it originated in China. Here's The World's Largest Origami Pig. If you want to fold - or teach others - try these directions:

The classic "Pig face" that even the youngest can fold is in "Origami in Motion".
A different pig's head
A little more complex is this standing Pig.
Jung's standing Pig (not quite the wild boar fold that I adore).
Different ** pig directions with no photo.

Some origami animals can free-standing. I also like gluing them to paper or cardstock to make greeting cards - certainly it is hard to figure out what else to do with some of the animal faces that even the youngest can make.

For more see my Musical Mandarin Paperfolding entry.

Chinese Music

2007-01-25T09:53:00.000-05:00

You may also want to investigate the differences between Eastern and Western music as a study. Most library systems have some Eastern music that you can borrow, although it may take some looking to find what you want for your dragon parade.

Some short samples of Chinese music

Chinese Percussion Music (grades 5 - 10) - Teach students about Chinese percussion instruments and ensemble performances. This lesson was contributed by Han Kuo-Huang,
and a Cantonese lullaby.

Teaching East Asian Music in the Elementary Classroom - List of various lesson plans, including:

East Asian Music in the Elementary School” (K - 6 music),
Yu(t) Ee Sam --A Chinese Counting Song (3rd grade, two 30-minute class periods.) I think this is the Cantonese version of the counting songs I use in (Musical) Mandarin.
SHI WU (The Lion Dance I & II) (3rd Grade, 30 minutes),
Singing and Playing the Music of China (3rd Grade, 50 minutes.),
Chinese Music (Grades 3-5) Recommended before Lion Dance I if you have time,
A Chinese New Year’s Celebration for 6th Grade (music & Social Studies),
Chinese Lion Dance (4th grade),
Yu Guang Guang (Moonlight Lullaby) (4th Grade, 50 minutes)
Chinese Music and Dance (4th Grade, 40 minutes),
Similarities and Contrasts of Music and Culture (5th Grade, 50 minutes.), and
Lunar New Year Celebration (6th Grade, for 35 minute class periods.) - Two lessons each on Japanese, Korean and Chinese music?

Or, for something simple, see Chinese New Year Songs.

Year of the Pig Postage Stamps

2007-01-24T14:33:00.000-05:00

China, Japan, Canada, Singapore, Indonesia, and New Zealand have issued stamps to commemorate the Year of the Pig. Singapore's completes their beautiful zodiac set. It is the first time that Indonesia has made special stamps for the Lunar New Year.

China has been issuing zodiac stamps since 1980 - this is the 3rd "Year of the Pig" stamp:
- Year of the Pig stamps, or see the whole sheet
- Perhaps the clearest picture

Someone made their own Year of the Pig stamps with photo shop. (Sadly not all of FreakingNews other Year of the Pig images are child-friendly.)

Making Lantern Riddles

2007-01-24T08:23:00.000-05:00

I never thought I'd be able to link to one of my favorite blogs from my Chinese New Year blog - but it has happened! The Eides had a "Brain break" on riddle poems last week. They did not say much, but did link to an article I have used for reference "Riddle-Poems, and How to Make Them" as well as provide a new link which seems more fun - to another blogger called "Riddleman". Here is a link to his "Language Riddles" section.

Other "Year of the Pig" news

2007-01-23T15:45:00.000-05:00

San Fransisco began celebrating the Year of the Pig on January 21st! They have some picture on their home page and lots from 2003 and 2004.

Spring Festival Temple Snacks - check out the sugar (animal-shaped) lollipops!

Green fluorescent pigs from China! (Stem cell research news from within the Year of the Dog, December 2006)

A nice shot from Steve in Japan, where the Year of the Boar is already upon them. I had not heard of the Japanese custom of buying arrows for the New Year before.

And New Year photos specific to the Year of the Boar:
- Spring Festival street food from the Year of the Rabbit, can you calculate which year it was?
- Penn Museum in Philadelphia has some nice Chinese New Year photos ready.
- China Culture's Photos of Spring Festival
- Astrolog, Year of the Fire Pig from an astrology site that is new to me.

Language Arts Lesson Plans

2007-01-18T11:41:00.000-05:00

Poetry: Traditional Chinese Nursery Rhymes

Discussing Chinese Folk and Fairy Tales

Learning to Give has some lessons that look great. They can be adapted for older or younger students as necessary.

1. The Generosity of Spirit Folktale Unit for grades 9 – 12 contains 3 Chinese tales. You can use individual lessons or the whole unit. Lesson 4: Gifts of all Sizes includes a discussion of “The Silk Brocade”. Lesson 5: Chinese Folk Tales uses Lord of the Cranes and Lo-Sun, The Blind Boy. Lesson 7 on Buddhist Folktales may also be of interest, although the tales selected seem to be from only India and Tibet.

2. Good Will: Three Chinese Stories, for K – 2nd grade uses Margaret Mahy’s The Seven Chinese Brothers. New York: Scholastic, Inc., 1990. ISBN: 0590420577 in Lesson 1: Helping Others, and Ying Chang Compestine’s Runaway Rice Cake (The). New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001. ISBN: 0689829728 in Lesson 2: Giving Generously. Lesson 3: Seems Like A Million Bucks uses a Chinese New Year book, Karen Chim’s Sam and the Lucky Money. New York: Lee and Low Books Inc., 1997. ISBN: 1880000539.

3. Lesson 4 of Philanthropic Literature (for K – 2nd grade) is onChinese Proverb on Honesty.

4. Lesson 6: Asian Fusion of the Around the World Unit (for grades 6-8) discusses philanthropy in China and Japan.

See more lesson plan ideas.

Chinese Zodiac Lesson Plans

2007-01-17T12:52:00.001-05:00

These, from the the National Endowment for the Humanities, are for kindergarten – 2^nd grade but have lots of good background material even if your students are older:

Animals of the Chinese Zodiac and
Lions, Dragons, and Nian: Animals of the Chinese New Year

And from Australia, for grades 5 & 6, a lesson plan on Chinese paper cuts and the zodiac

Lesson Plans for CNY

2007-01-16T11:18:00.000-05:00

Chinese New Year is a great opportunity to have your child learn about another culture, and compare and contrast holiday celebrations. Chinese New Year can be a stand-alone unit study, part of an overview of New Year celebrations, a study of the moon phases, time keeping and different calendars, or part of a larger study of China or Asia or comparing cultures.

Studying Chinese New Year can make it very different from other school activities and focus on creating lanterns and a dragon and listening to Eastern music, or using balls and a flashlight to determine who the phases of the moon are made, or practice folding: paper for origami or wrappers to make spring rolls and dumplings to eat. Trying calligraphy can be an opportunity to hold a pen or brush and write – one that may not have the associated handwriting stress. Some find that using tweezers and attempting chopsticks allows them to work on fine motor coordination in a fun way.

You may want to review my Chinese New Year Overview and Wikipedia’s entry on Chinese New Year before you begin any unit. Any of these can be used during a study of China or Chinese New Year. I especially like the use of folk tales.

Language Arts CNY Lesson Plans
Chinese Music
Chinese Zodiac Lesson Plans
Brushstrokes from West to East is a 43 page document containing Vermont-standards based lesson plans for K - 6, including lanterns, paper cuts, and clay dragons.
Basic "Chinese" Lantern

Not everything fits under the Chinese New Year umbrella. See Musical Mandarin for more "(Chinese) Lesson Plans" including math and (coming soon) Chinese Inventions.

Individual lesson plans:

Chopsticks for lower elementary,
Beth's Chinese New Year Lesson (probably for pre-K and K),
For high schoolers: Chinese Door Guards and
Multicultural Science Education: Myths, Legends, and Moon Phases by Andrea B. Freed

There are a lot of crafts and activities and individual worksheets on Chinese New Year on the web. Here's a discussion of reasonable sources for mostly worksheets for pre-K through 6th grades.

Of course there are more Lesson Plans on China, not related to the New Year, that you can also use during this time.

Last updated: August 2007

In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson

2007-01-15T11:54:00.000-05:00

I bet this book by Betty Bao Lord will be moved to a place of prominence in many libraries and bookstores soon - if it is not there already.

If you want some ideas of what else to do:

Supplemental CyberGuide
Lesson Plan, 2, mentions Chinese New Year

Activities: quizes, word search, crossword

For their subscribers, Edhelper's activities on this book.

Teacher Vision has projects and quizes.

A quiz based on Millionaire so the questions keep gettign harder.

Chinese New Year worksheets

2007-01-14T12:01:00.000-05:00

My favorite source is probably still Enchanted Learning. Probably because of the little books that you can print out and make. To have full access, the require a small annual fee, but I think you can still see and use some of their things for free.

More worksheets

There are a number of places with word searches and coloring pages. I like the zodiac pictures at Apples4the teacher.com. You can color them interactively which might be fun for the youngest. I am hoping that they will add sentences too.

Ray at childbook.com has a set of coloring pages too.

There is one 1-37) dot to dot dragon here.

Another source for worksheets, mazes, word finds, and some reading comprehension pieces is Edhelper.com . They even have a weekly review section. I have not decided whether it is worth the annual fee of $19.99 for my family, but they expanded their offerings in general since I last looked.

The reading comprehension in their Chinese New Year collection is new to me, and they have also organized it since I last looked. Then, the last thing I looked has an error in it! One reading piece did say to give hong bao to your parents. I have never heard of such a thing! It would be disrespectful to give hong bao to the older generations I know for New Years! Maybe this is a regional issue but I suspect they just slipped up. It is why they are listed last - most of us don't have the time or inclination to fact check every item on a worksheet and need to have a trusted source.

Chinese Modern Dance

2007-01-08T11:11:00.000-05:00

H.T. Chen Dance Company and Nai-ni Chen Dance Company both present an interesting mix of Chinese and modern dance, and offer educational programs and shows. It is certainly worth a trip to NYC's Chinatown to see the H.T. Chen dancers. Our introduction was great - we saw a show, went out to lunch, and returned for a workshop. H.T. Chen does not create a new piece specifically for New Year every year.

I believe they are still offering the Lion Dance work that we saw in 2006. The Lion Dance is traditionally part of every Chinese New Year celebration. Nai-ni Chen has posted some Lion Dance pictures and video clips. Nai-ni Chen is presenting their "Year of the Boar" in a number of places, including NJPAC, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and in Flushing.

I think it helps us, and especially our children, to understand when a workshop is also offered. NJPAC offers a FamilyTime Pre-Performance Workshop on Saturday, February 17, 2007 for
Celebrating the Chinese New Year – The Lion Dance. Company members will teach participants how to create their own lion masks and will teach traditional Lion Dance movements used to celebrate the Chinese New Year. If you are near Philadelphia, you may want to consider doing an Asian New Year Party Special Family Event.

Nai-ni Chen Study Guides include:
- Art of Chinese Dance
- for their Dragon's Tale performance
- for their Year of the Boar Chinese New Year's performance (2007)

Here's a clip of the more traditional parade dragon dance.

What's next: Pig or Boar?

2007-01-05T14:20:00.000-05:00

Looks like I am not the only one getting ready for the Year of the Pig.  I noticed that the Nai Ni Chen dancers use "Year of the Boar".

from Focus on Culture:
Year of the Pig - http://www.china.org.cn/english/en-12sx/index.htm#12
Hai represents month ten in the Chinese lunar calendar, when everything begins to stagnate. It also represents 9 PM to 11 PM, when all is silent apart from the pig's snores.

February 2007 update:
Xinhua, China’s state news agency, has banned images of pigs from television ads out of respect for its Muslim minority, which considers the animal unclean. I understand that there are not so many pig images in Malaysia either where there are more Muslims. In Japan, it is generally called the Year of the Wild Boar, instead of Pig.

2007 Lunar Calendar Available

2006-11-17T09:20:00.000-05:00

We've created the pdf file showing how the phases of the moon compare to the 2007 calendar. If you would like a copy, please post a comment with your email, or email me at mus-mandarin@wubison.com.

I love the look but we make one every year so that people can see how each month of the Chinese calendar begins with a new moon. If there is a full moon, one knows it is the 15th of the lunar calendar. Children - and adults - always want to look at it when I take it anywhere.

The "opposite" or negative image can be seen on my Musical Mandarin blog.

United Nations Day 2006

2006-10-24T20:25:00.000-05:00

Paul Boutin, a technology writer, has a much less child-friendly view of Chinese New Year. After the link to The San Francisco Chronicle's January article on the Year of the Dog by Frederic Larson, Boutin refers to the filtering/censorship that is required on Google in China.

I know I am wrestling more and more with the question of how much to tell my children about what is happening in the world, and at what age are they ready to see the newspaper and the front page daily.

Steve Whan still has weekly child-friendly China news in his Focus on Culture.

Riddles from other countries

2006-10-17T18:14:00.000-05:00

Screaming, soaring / seeking sky
Flowers of fire / flying high
Eastern art / from ancient time
Name me now / and solve this rhyme

The riddle above is by Eric S. Raymond. I learned a lot about Middle English-style riddles from his on Riddle Poems and how to make them ( http://catb.org/~esr/riddle-poems.html) . Maybe you can use it - or see how English and Viking riddle peoems compare and contrast with those by the Chinese used for Lantern Festival. Unless you are working with the originals, of ocurse, you cannot look at the meter and rhyme.

.
.
.
.
.
Answer: Fireworks.
from http://catb.org/~esr/riddle-poems.html

Mama Lisa's on Chinese New Year

2006-10-11T21:59:00.000-05:00

I have looked at Mama Lisa's Children's songs and nursery rhymes site and Folks Songs archive on and off - usually looking for Girl Scouts. (There are only two songs in her China section of children's songs.)

I had no idea she had seven articles on Chinese New Year as well. I especially liked Greetings and Hand Gestures for the Chinese New Year. Perhaps when I add better graphics to this site I will be less impressed, but the photo was so helpful.

Preparing for the Pig

2006-10-02T22:57:00.000-05:00

The Year of the Pig begins Saturday, February 18^th, 2007.

This means that 12/20 lunar (Wednesday, February 7, 2007) should be set aside for the annual housecleaning and 3 days later on Saturday, the kitchen god will be going up to report, and that February 28^th ‘should’ find you preparing for the Lantern festival, which begins on the 15^th night, which is 29th this year. (This two-week period includes Valentine’s Day and if you plan on ‘teaching’ the holiday, you may want to consider that in your plans.)

I may be eyeing those candy pigs that sometimes show up around Christmas to see if they would last.

I like this origami pig for children to try. You can download the directions there.

As we get closer to the date, you should be able to a Chinese calendar for February 2007, at China the Beautiful: February 2007 calendar . It was not ready yet in September 2006. There is a special name for the first day of the new year - but you should be able to see the character for 2 (二), on February 19^th, and for 3 (三) on February 20^th.

If you would like a one-page 2007 calendar overlaid with the phases of the moon, email me at mus-mandarin@wubison.com and ask for my "lunar calendar".

For more on Chinese calendars see:
China the Beautiful's Introduction to Chinese Calendars
Scotland Online's Chinese New Year page

In school with Beth

2006-09-30T10:04:00.000-05:00

Beth runs a nice blog on Cambodia & Cambodian culture. "Celebrating Chinese New Year with Skype, Flickr, Stickers and Paper" is what she did one year in her daughter's classroom.

She has her lesson plan, Fu for good luck, a song, and a set of handouts. (Pages 4 & 13 are specific to the Year of the Dog, but even those pages will be 'good' again in 2018.)

Cambodian New Year

2006-09-30T07:58:00.000-05:00

There is more variation in "new year" celebrations in Asia than one might at first expect. In Cambodia, it is celebrated in April!

Introduction: Cambodian New Year by Laurie Fenton
Cambodian New Year Talk in School by Laurie Fenton
Celebrating Cambodian New Year (K-2)
Wikipedia on Cambodian New Year

Talking to teachers

2006-09-27T21:47:00.000-05:00

It may not be too early to mention to your child(or children)'s teacher(s) that you are interested in doing something for Chinese New Year. The next one is February 18, 2007 and quite close to Valentine's Day. While it is nice that the room might still be red, not everyone can handle two celebrations in their classrtoom so close together. Good thing that Chinese New year is two weeks long!

Maybe you will just happen to send in a special treat for them on October 6, 2006 for Mid-Autumn Festival to get them interested in our festivals. . . even if you are not going in for that this year.

It's months away

2006-09-04T12:50:00.000-05:00

With this weather and back-to-school right around the corner for those of us in North America who have not started yet, it may be hard to think about Chinese New Year. However, you may want to keep it in mind if you are planning on doing something for Mid-Autumn Festival. That is October 6th, 2006.

Chinese New Year fabric?!?

2006-06-25T08:43:00.000-05:00

eQuilter.com has had nice fabrics for years, mostly 100% cotton for quilters.  Right now she has some Chinese themed fabrics.  I have done business with this company but have no other ties.  Right now she has a number of Chinese (and Japanese) themed fabrics.
Chinese New Year fabric 
Chinese characters fabric

Another Chinese New Year Site

2006-03-22T00:20:00.000-05:00

This site is certainly going to be revisited by me, at least!

Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco: Celebration of the Chinese New Year

Spring Equinox

2006-03-20T09:43:00.000-05:00

Enjoy!

Spring Equinox is Coming

2006-03-14T23:56:00.000-05:00

Did you know that Chinese New Year is halfway between the Winter Solstice (Dong Zhi) and Spring Equinox? Actually it is on the first new moon on or after the mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox. The vernal or spring equinox is the middle of spring & will be March 20th, 2006 for the Northern Hemisphere.

Chun Paper Cut project

2006-02-22T08:52:00.000-05:00

If you want to make a paper cut hanging of the Chinese character for spring (chun, 春) , Childbook.com (*) has posted directions. It looks nice without the tassel too.

Spring paper cut project

According to the Chinese calendar, spring has arrived. Sunday in my backyard, it was 21 degrees.

* - a source for Chinese Children Books, Videos, Music, and Software that helps Children (and others) learn more about the Chinese Language and Culture. My only connection is as satisfied customer.

Coloring Pages

2006-02-14T11:13:00.001-05:00

Tiger Coloring Pages

Dragon Dance Coloring Page
Pair of Chinese Lions (detailed)
Chinese New Year Lion Dance Coloring Page

CNY Paraders

Detailed Dragon
Chinese Parade Coloring Pages
abcteach's Chinese parade dragon
This page includes a Parade Dragon

Coloring Page: Pagoda
Coloring Page: Panda

CNY Boy in Traditional Costume Zodiac Animals
Fu character - good luck
Another Fu
New Year characters
Prosperity character
The 12 zodiac animals
Pig page

37 coloring pages from amazing clipart - The images are not labeled, but my favorites include: fish (#11), pictures with characters (#19 and 20), dragons (#8, 16, 23), and the 12 zodiac animals (#26-37). Sadly, eight or ten of the images, including one dragon seem to be copies from the Chinese Parade coloring pages, and the parade dragon seems to come from abcteach.

There is more online if you are looking for Crafts for CNY, Chinese "games" for 3-9s, Chinese Games, Chinese New Years songs, or CNY lesson plans. abcteach.com, edhelper, and enchantedlearning.com all have more things - some free and more for their subscribers.

last updated: 2/2007

Lantern Festival: 2/12/2006

2006-02-01T09:34:00.000-05:00

The fifteenth and last day of Chinese New Year celebrations is Lantern Festival (or Yuanxiao Jie).

Lantern Festival Origins
http://cny.blogspot.com/2005/02/lantern-festival-origins.html

Lanterns
http://cny.blogspot.com/2005/02/hong-bao-lanterns-for-15th-day.html
There are more crafts, including other lantern ideas at:
http://cny.blogspot.com/2006/01/childrens-cny-crafts-and-activities.html

Other sites on the festival include:
Taiwan government's official site on Lantern Festival
Chinese Lantern Folk Festival site from about.com.
The Chinese mainland will be lit up by an array of lanterns.

Lantern Riddles
Lantern riddles
http://cny.blogspot.com/2004/12/lantern-riddles.html
Answers for those riddles
http://cny.blogspot.com/2004/09/lantern-riddle-answers.html

Word riddles
http://cny.blogspot.com/2005/01/more-on-lantern-riddles-word-riddles.html
More lantern ridles
http://cny.blogspot.com/2004/12/more-lantern-riddles.html
http://cny.blogspot.com/2005/01/more-on-lantern-riddles-word-riddles.html

Chinese Language Resources

2006-02-01T08:38:00.000-05:00

http://www.knowledgehound.com/topics/chinese.htm

http://www.freechineselessons.com/

http://zhongwen.com/

Chinese New Year 2006

2006-02-01T07:38:00.000-05:00

This year Chinese New Year started on January 29, 2006. It was the start of a Year of the Dog; 1/1/4704 on the Chinese calendar; and a new moon. Each Chinese month (and year) starts on the new moon. For a PDF file showing this year's calendar with the phases of the moon, email your request to mus-mandarin@wubison.com

The Year of the Dog is supposed to be 'good for marriages', just as the Year of the Dragon is good for births.

It is a red-fire Dog Year. Some Feng Shui followers have suggested putting a sculpture or picture of a rabbit in your front door - so the dog will chase the rabbit out and take bad energy with it.

A dog's bark "wang" is the homonym to another Chinese character meaning wealth and prosperity. Barking dogs bring prosperity for New Year.

China brought back New Year's firework tradition (AP)BEIJING The old tradition of fireworks at Chinese New Year celebrations was back with a bang in Beijing on Saturday, as authorities lifted a 12-year ban during the Lunar New Year holiday.

New rules allow residents of the capital to ignite fireworks all day on Jan. 28 and 29 - New Year's Eve and New Year's Day - and from 7 am to midnight every day from Jan. 30 to Feb. 12.

Lunar New Year in China

Pictures of CNY from around the world

One person's CNY in Taiwan

Chinese New Year Songs

2006-01-31T07:48:00.000-05:00

I (teach and) sing two different Chinese New Year songs with groups. One is:

Xin nian kuai le, Gong xi fa cai,
Xin nian kuai le, Gong xi fa cai,
Xin nian dao.

For Gong Xi, Gong Xi ni, I teach the chorus and sing the verse myself. The chorus is:
Gong xi, Gong xi, Gong xi ni,
A, Gong xi, Gong xi, Gong xi ni,

Kiddy House has new English words for this traditional Chinese New Year Song titled Smile at everyone you see.

Chinese for Families has a pdf for a Chinese New Year song posted on their website but I can't find the tune.

To hear a lovely (although nontraditional) Chinese New Year song, visit.
http://www.nancymusic.com/Gunghayplay.htm

Can Teach has English lyrics about Chinese New Year set to common American/English tunes at http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/songspoems54.html

Collections of Chinese New Year MIDI files - Some of these are good for parading!
http://china.tyfo.com/int/art/festival/spring%20festival/music.htm
http://home.pacbell.net/lcng/nymidi.html

Or see, Music Lesson Plans

Last updated: February 2007

Nai-ni Chen's Year of the Dog Disappoints

2006-01-29T09:57:00.000-05:00

We started the Chinese New Year with the Nai-Ni Chen Dancers special Chinese Zodiac production that incorporates dance, contemporary music, and martial arts. Each year they create dances based on the Chinese Zodiac animal and I had always heard great reviews – but never gone. In 2006, we saw traditional Chinese dances and three of the company’s new dances: The Double Lion Dance, the Peacock Dance and a Double Spear Dance. One seemed especially long for the younger audience members as it was mostly instrumental with only a tiny bit of dancing.

I think the educational version would have been better for us - I heard good reviews about that performance. (I heard that they 'taught' a bit of body percussion demonstration in that - although I don't know if that is what they called it.) I enjoyed much of what I saw - but even for me, as an adult, 'that' instrumental piece was quite long!

The “Year of the Dog” was not written up last time I checked, but I recommend their other study guides.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

2006-01-29T01:39:00.000-05:00

The Year of the Dog is Here.

Since this more an educational site than really date specific, I have gone back and added information to past posts. You may want to see the new recipes in my Chinese Food entry, or just wander around.

Suggestions welcome. All the best for you and yours!

Chinese Characters (for the holidays)

2006-01-26T10:43:00.000-05:00

I just found Good Characters site that shows how to write "Gong xi fa cai!" wishing you a prosperous new year (a.k.a. Happy New Year) - including the right stroke order. And if you are a child - and want to reply with the "classic" give me a red envelope line, you can also see how to write that "Hong bao na lai". The reply is both rude and cute but it really is for children.

"Hong bao" in Mandarin (or "lai see" in Caontonese) are the traditional lucky red envelopes. You can give them to children, or people in the generation younger that you for New Years and you can use them to present money to people on other occasions as well. Holidays - not for paying bills or the mundane!

"Fu" is luck and for Chinese New Year you want to post it upside down - because of the sounds of the phrase "Fu dao le" it is then read as "luck is here". This is the only time that I know where you can get away with posting the characters upside down. Care2 Greeting cards takes about it toward the end of their Chinese New Year page, and they have a "Fu" e-card that (yes) shows the stroke order, and then turns it upside-down for you. Luck to you in the coming year!

The stroke order really is important to create characters that look balanced. Even a beginner using a ball point pen will have a much better looking character if they follow stroke order. I have had people who know no Chinese look at two attempts at creating a character - they so far have always said that the one that used the correct stroke order looks 'better' or more balanced or more artisitic.

Chinese New Year characters is gold. (no stroke order.)

The Good Characters is a company specializing in the art and science of Chinese naming - they say they can create "good names" for you or your business in Chinese. I am not endorsing them, I don't know them and I don't usually link to commercial sites. I just love that you can see the character being created. They also have a page for the literal "Happy New Year" Xin Nian Kuai le.

Spring Festival Couplets - Chun Lian

2006-01-25T11:21:00.000-05:00

You may want to look at Greg Choong's photo of "Chun Lian & Red Latterns". The origin of chun lian is given in this article from Australia's Chinatown. Pure Insight provides this information.

Some couplets are written using simple characters, but I have nto yet found a complete pair that is good for beginners. I will keep loooking. You may be able to write these:

老少平安 Lǎoshào píng'ān –All is well.

大吉大利 Dà jí dà lì – Good luck and great prosperity; expression of good wishes.

大地回春 Dàdìhuíchūn – Spring has returned to the land.

Watch your stroke order please - they will look so much better! Here's the glossary:

老 lǎo - old
少 shào - few, little
老少 lǎoshào - the old and young
平 píng - level, even
安 ān - still, quiet
平安 - safe & sound

大 dà - big
吉 jí - lucky, auspicious
大吉 - great, good fortune
利 lì - benefit, profit

大地 - earth, mother earth, world
回 - return
春 - spring (season)
回春 - bring back to life

老
少
平
安

大
吉
大
利

大
地
回
春

Body percussion

2006-01-24T18:59:00.000-05:00

As you might suspect, "body percussion" is the sounds that you can make with your body. You might be able to picture this more easily thinking of martial arts than of traditional Chinese dance. It has certainly been incorporated into modern Chinese dance. Think more of the sound of your hand hitting your chest or your foot, or your elbow on your hand, than the sound of your hands clapping.

It may be harder to find good "body percussion" references than I thought. Certainly dancers from Japan and New Zealand today also practice body percussion - but I am not sure of the historical background in either country. I have seen referecnes to this as an Australia art from - but I don't know how similar it might be to what I saw. It is certainly more than the claps and ham-bones used to teach basic rhythm patterns in the USA!

This Chinese Lion Dance lesson plan for 4th grade, talks about percussion instruments and suggests that students try the rhythms using body percussion before trying the instruments. The unit was designed to cover 3 sessions.
http://www.indiana.edu/~easc/music_workshop/lesson_plans2003/chinese_lion_dance.htm

Crafts for Upper Elementary

2006-01-24T18:48:00.000-05:00

Chinese dragons. Have them compare & contrast Eastern & Western dragons and draw them or do dragon origami. To help you, look at Eastern dragons and learn about dragons in general:
http://cny.blogspot.com/2005/01/bit-on-dragons.html

Origami covers lots of skills:(advanced)direction following, math: symmetry, geometric figures, ... Check out my Dog & Dragon, or Paperfold Pig origami. (If you think following directions is 'too easy' try having one child describe what to do and another attempt it.)

Make lanterns from "hong bao" envelopes - or any red rectangles. Ideas at:
Chinese Lantern Handicrafts for kids or my discussion of Hong Bao Lanterns.

Chinese knots. Use what is called "rat-tail", it is smooth and easy to use but stiff enough to hold a shape. You can show them knots - or if you have a bit of time, you can make the basic knot and have them "trace" it with a second thread. (I actually find it easier to tie the "double coin knot" myself than to trace it but it does take a while to figure out how to explain it!) For a diagram of 4 basic knots:
http://www.knottingartist.com/basic-4.html

Have them try some Chinese Paper Cutting - and show them the possibilities. Chinese Papercuts includes a list of samples that you can see online. You may also want to read the story behind papercuts or a paper cut lesson plan for 5th & 6th graders and their example paper cuts. Paper Cuttings talks about the histiry of this art and describes the various forms with a few pictures. Chinese Paper Cuts divides the art into three categories.

Have them try Chinese Calligraphy: Chinese New Year decorations are a great excuse. Or find out what a Chinese Chun Lian (New Year's Couplet) is and have them try their hand at some. If that is too much, try one character, fu (luck) (when posted upside-down is "luck comes"). Care2 Greeting cards takes about it toward the end of their Chinese New Year page, and they have a "Fu" e-card that (yes) shows the stroke order, and then turns it upside-down for you. Or read more on Chinese writing or Chinese Calligraphy in general

Chinese New Year's Greetings (characters) to Color: Decorate your room with Chinese New Year greetings from Childbook.com. Students can color these jpg images for the classroom or bring them home for friends and family. (Stroke order is not given.)

Happy New Year
Truth
Good Fortune/Prosperity
Peace

or, really Write Chinese: Have students become acquainted with Chinese Calligraphy and Chinese ideograms or characters. (Please tell them about stroke order. In fact write a character following the stroke order and then in some other order and see if the students find that one just looks right, one more appealing.)


Not a craft - have them make/fold their own spring rolls, or wonton.  You may want to take them home to cook & then run them back - depending on what facilites your school has.  I bet you could fry the spring rolls in an electric fry pan but check with your first that it does get hot enough.

Not a craft - but focus on the lantern festival instead of Chinese New Year.  Have them try to solve traditional lantern festival riddles (in English), or make their own.

Heart of the Lion energizes!

2006-01-20T19:33:00.000-05:00

Heart of the Lion, Chinese New Year multi-media dance education program with H.T. Chen & Dancers in NYC. We went before the New Year and came back energized - and very interested in learning more about body percussion.

After the show, we went out for dim sum, and then returned for an afternoon choerography session. Wow!

Enroute to lunch we saw a two lion "lion dance" dance for an association with drums, cymbals, and receiving 'hong bao'. As we were walking around I am sure I heard firecrackers as the lions went to other associations and businesses.

Check out pictures of the H.T. Chen's work at:
http://htchendance.org/lecture.html
http://www.htchendance.org/index2.html

Ready for the Kitchen God to report?

2006-01-18T23:11:00.000-05:00

Next Friday, the 23rd, the Kitchen God returns to heaven to report to the Jade Emperor on the family's behavior during the year.

Traditionally Chinese families had a good dinner to send him off with a good report, and might make an offering of sweets or smear honey on his lips so he will say sweet things to the Jade Emperor about the family, or he may be fed sticky things (like nian gao rice cakes) so that his mouth is stuck and he can not say much of anything! (Think about how much you can say with a spoonful of peanut butter in your mouth.)

What Year Is It?

2006-01-16T14:01:00.000-05:00

The most authoritative discussion I have found of “what year is it on the Chinese calendar” is from The Mathematics of the Chinese Calendar by Helmer ASLAKSEN, Department of Mathematics at the University of Singapore. It seems that most overseas Chinese and the Chinatown of San Francisco will be calling the Year of the Dog starting in 2006, 4704.

My summary: The Chinese started the year count with each emperor and did not use a continuous count for the years. There are several possibilities for what year it is. However, the one year issue – and why you may see 4703 and 4704 both as dates for the Year of the Dog starting on January 29^th, 2006 – could be due to at least two different reasons. It could be due to starting with zero instead of year 1 for an epoch, or the difference may come from those who believe that the (mythical) Yellow Emperor started his reign with the Winter Solstice. (So less than a month later, the 2^nd year of his reign would have started at the Chinese New Year.)

Dog and Dragon Origami

2006-01-16T10:38:00.000-05:00

Origami (so what’s the China connection?)

Origami is the word for Japanese paper folding, but there is also a tradition of paper folding in China. Some historians believe that it started not longer after Ts'ai Lun invented paper in China in A.D. 105. Many say both paper and paper folding were introduced to Japan in the late 6^th century by Buddhist monks. Unfortunately, there are no records of Chinese paper folding, and the oldest Japan records are from 1797 (in the 18^th century). Separately paperfolding originated in Spain (Arabs brought the secret of paper to them in the 12^th century).

Children can benefit from origami in many ways – the listening skills, sequencing, fine motor, attention, math skills (geometry, congruence, symmetry). I just saw a piece on the web about how it helps in using both sides of the brain. Whether you research it or not, Enjoy!

For THE YEAR OF THE DOG:

Look at these great origami dog sculptures, or this Grand Dragon (instructions are not available for it) - only if you will still be willing to try something simpler. Directions are available for the rest of the origami that is listed.

For a simple origami dog face you need only a square of paper and a pencil or something to draw the face. You can also make it "talk". (Or try a similar cat.) This dog's head uses a different approach.

There are some (easy but) harder dogs too. The "Patient dog" can be folded two different ways, one with a tail and one without. One might be easier for you to do than the other.

If you are interested, learn more about Origami Basics.

To try this advanced dog you may also need to download the turkey instructions which is the base.

Dragons are generally harder to fold. My friend Lorna found some simple ones from Tammy Lee. One based on the fortune teller you probably learned in school and a basic dragon puppet. When you are ready, Marc Kirschenbaum’s Rearing Dragon (page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4, page 5, page 6) is a high intermediate dragon. This Eastern Dragon [PDF file of instructions] is a also high intermediate.

The Year of the Pig starts in 2007 I am ready with a pig, pig's head and a picture of The World's Largest Origami Pig. When the cycle begins again in two years, with the year of the rat, I will want to remember this simple mouse and these which I can not fold!

For more see my Musical Mandarin Paperfolding entry.

Research for Older Children

2006-01-12T12:13:00.000-05:00

Create a Chinese New Year timeline of what happens when. The time line should probably go from lunar dates 12/16 (or at least 12/24) to 1/15. When does the Kitchen God go to Heaven? When are there Lion Dances?

Compare and contract New Year celebrations around the world. Or Chinese New Year with their own celebrations.

Research Lion Dances and Dragon Dances. Compare and contrast.

Research Lantern Festival (1/15 lunar). It is also called “Yuan Hsiao Chie” (the Festival of the Night of the First Full Moon) although “Lantern Festival” is the English name. The Lantern Festival began during the Han Dynasty (206B.C. - A.D.220). Have students research important events that occurred during that period and make a time line. Resources include:
http://cny.blogspot.com/2005/02/lantern-festival-origins.html

Children's CNY Crafts and Activities

2006-01-12T12:11:00.000-05:00

Children's CNY Crafts and Activities

While these activities are split roughly into two groups, activities can be adapted for any age range. (Older students can do research to present themselves, more complex crafts just for upper elementary, or if the school has multiple grades and you start early older students can use any of these activities to set up stations for the younger ones.)

Preschool - ~3rd Grade

PBSkids online game to Countdown to the New Year (some require a Flash Plug-In)

Coloring Pages

Dragon Dance Coloring Page
Chinese New Year Lion Dance Coloring Page
CNY Boy in Traditional Costume Zodiac Animals

Or, see a list of just Coloring Pages.

Paper Lanterns
http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft/lantern1.html
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/chinese_lantern_sheet.htm
http://lhs1701.0catch.com/clankids.htm

CNY Word Search: http://www.cstone.net/~bry-back/actpag126.html

Dragon or Lion Masks:The Lion Dance is performed during the Lantern Festival with performers wearing Lion Masks at the end of Chinese New Year. Lions are believed to bring good luck and scare away evil spirits. Have your students make lion masks —scary, cute, or funny—to help them celebrate. Or, make their own dragon puppets or a mask for a parade or for decorating the room.

http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft/dragon.html
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/chinesenewyear/lion/
Make a Dragon (html file)
Parade Dragon Puppet (html file)
http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft/chindragonhard.html (html file)

Read about it: I like Enchanted Learning's books – it seems worth subscribing just to get these. In 2006, the price was $20 for a year.

For early readers

For fluent readers

More craft ideas:
http://www.web-holidays.com/chinesenewyear/crafts/default.htm

More for Upper Elementary grade levels

Happy New Year
Truth
Good Fortune/Prosperity
Peace

(General) New Year Quiz (recommended for grades 6 – 8) :New Year Celebrations Around the World (PDF file) and New Year Celebrations Around the World Answer Key (PDF file)

Red Gift Envelopes: It's traditional in China to give gifts of money in red envelopes at New Year's. Have your students make their own Chinese Gift Packet. Rather than money, have them write good luck wishes to send.

Firecracker, Firecracker! Make “firecrackers” out of rolled cardboard tubes to simulate Chinese New Year's Firecrackers.

Paper mache Dragon Head

Crossword Puzzle: Eduplace.com has a Happy New Year (PDF file) puzzle and Happy New Year Answer Key (PDF file).

Chinese Zodiac Word Finds (from eduplace.com):

Chinese Zodiac (PDF file)
Chinese Zodiac Answer Key (PDF file)
Write Chinese: Have students become acquainted with Chinese Calligraphy and Chinese ideograms or characters. (Please tell them about stroke order. In fact write a character following the stroke order and then in some other order and see if the students find that one just looks right, one more appealing.)

Activities on the Web for Everyone

2006-01-12T12:07:00.000-05:00

Chinese New Year Parade photos

Enjoy photos from previous years' San Francisco Chinese New Year parades. Not from New Year's - but here is a video slip of a Parade Dragon.

Other photos:Lion dancers must show their courage by dancing close to the exploding firecrackers. The dancing unicorn is distinguished by its narrow horselike jaw. The feisty red-faced lion prepares to solve a ritual puzzle. The shaggy yellow costume of the northern lion totally conceals the dancers who perform an entertaining acrobatic show

Download CNY music: Popular Spring Festival songs in both MP3 and Midi formats. It is mostly in Chinese but the song titles and download links are also in English.

Study the Lunar Calendar: I can email you a copy of a 2006 lunar calendar. Write me at mus-mandarin@wubison.com

Make a Calendar for the upcoming year. Other important Chinese holidays include: Summer Solstice, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Winter Solstice. For more on Chinese festivals and holidays, see:

Printable Calendar pages (Western months, not lunar)

http://www.eduplace.com/calendar/index.html

Eastern Dragons

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The dragons of China, Japan and Korea are all slightly different – and of course each land believes that all Eastern Dragons originated there. A nice overview of Eastern Dragons, their differences, the types of dragons, life stages and other interesting information can be found on her Black Drago pages at Eastern Dragon Overview. Look here for her details on Dragon Types.

The Circle of the Dragon by Kylie McCormick (drago) looks like “the place” to go for online information on Eastern Dragons. Amanda and Donna Quinn have other pages full of information on Eastern Dragons and their anatomy and lots of linked pages from the Somerland Gallery home page. I liked the Sommerland and Black Drago sites because they give references for the information they have.

Clair Russell has some dragon illustrations – and more dragon links. I like someone else's Chinese Dragons' Physical Description page - although perhaps it is because when you move the cursor 5 little dragons follow it around. (I did not see any references of bibliography on this webpage but I may have missed it.) The page seems to have been set up originally in honor of Chinese New Year 2000/4698 , The Year of the Metal Dragon.

I also like this Legend of the Chinese Dragon.

These pages are full of information. Some of it explicitly said it was free to use for educational purposes, but if you want to use any of it, be sure to follow the copyright and reference information for each page. For more see Chinese Dragon Culture.

Future Dates

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Saturday, February 18, 2007 - Year of the Boar (Fire Pig)

Thursday, February 7, 2008 - Year of the Rat - "The First Year" - (Earth Rat)
Monday, January 26, 2009 - Year of the Ox (Earth Ox)
Sunday, February 14, 2010 - Year of the Tiger (Metal Tiger)
Thursday, February 3, 2011 - Year of the Hare (Metal Hare)
Monday, January 23, 2012 - Year of the Dragon (Water Dragon)
Sunday, February 10, 2013 - Year of the Snake (Water Snake)
Friday, January 31, 2014 - Year of the Horse (Wood)
February 19, 2015 - Year of the Ram (Wood)
February 8, 2016 - Year of the Monkey (Fire)
January 28, 2017 - Year of the Rooster (Fire)
February. 16, 2018 - Year of the Dog (Earth)
February 05, 2019 - Year of the Boar (Earth)

January 25, 2020 - Year of the Metal Rat – “The first year”

To determine the dates and animals for any Lunar New Year from 1645 to 2644, see:

http://www.romanization.com/chinesenewyear/

Sunday, January 29, 2006 - Year of the Red Fire Dog - (Chinese Year 4704)

Year of the Dog begins Jan. 29, 2006

2005-12-23T09:56:00.000-05:00

The Year of the Dog begins on January 29, 2006. (Chinese Year 4704)

This means that February 12^th ‘should’ find you preparing for the Lantern festival which begins on the 15^th night, which is February 13^th this year.

To see a Chinese calendar for January & February 2006, go to:
http://www.chinapage.com/astronomy/calendar/2006/sc-2006-1.pdf
http://www.chinapage.com/astronomy/calendar/2006/sc-2006-2.pdf

There is a special name for the first day of the new year - but you should be able to see the character for 2 (二), on January 30th, and for 3 (三) on January 31st.

For more on Chinese calendars see:
http://www.chinapage.com/astronomy/calendar/calendar.html
http://www.new-year.co.uk/chinese/calendar.htm

Downloadable CNY Music

2005-03-02T00:34:00.000-05:00

Here's a website with some popular Spring Festival songs in both MP3 and Midi formats. It is mostly in Chinese but the song titles and download links are also in English.

http://homepage.10000h.com/chunjie/06.htm

Enjoy!

Lantern Festival Origins

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In ancient times, the lantern festival was a time to worship Taiyi, the God of Heaven. It is said that Taiyi controlled the destiny of the human world and was helped by sixteen dragons. These dragons brought drought, storms famine or pestilence.

Qin shi-huang, the first Emperor to unite China, ordered splendid ceremonies be held every year to please or appease Tayi. The people of China and the Emperors that followed believed that these ceremonies pleased Taiyi and helped bring good weather and good health to the people of China.

A later Emperor named Wudi proclaimed that this celebration was one of China's most important and for this reason it would last all night.
The Yuanxiao Story: Long ago in ancient China there lived a palace maid named Yuan xiao, a kind and clever girl who was locked up in the palace of her Emperor Wu Di all year round. This made her sad and homesick. Luckily she found a friend in a minister called Dongfang Shuo.

Shuo made up a story for the emperor which helped Yuanxiao see her family again. He said that the God of Fire has been ordered to set the city of Changan on fire on the 15^th day of the first month of the lunar year. Let us make him think the city is already on fire by setting off fire crackers and hanging red lanterns all over the city.

In order to do this, everyone, even the palace maids, will have to help and take part in a great lantern show. Now Shuo knew that the God of Fire loved to watch a good fire show and liked the dumplings made by Yuanxiao just as much. "Let Yuanxiao give her dumplings to the fire god," said Shuo to his emperor, "for that will please him and save the city from fire."

The Emperor ordered all the people of Changan to spend the whole night setting off firecrackers and playing with lanterns. It was a very rare thing for girls to go out at night and meet boys of their same age. Yuanxiao was able to leave the palace and meet her family for a fine and happy time and the next year it all happened again!

The Emperor Wu Di enjoyed himself so much that he ordered even more red lanterns for the next year. (Red was the color to scare away evil spirits and bad luck.) So, on the very same day this next year, Yuanxiao made her dumplings again and saw her family.

In other versions, the emperor had done something to displease the god and others worked to trick the god. On that night, when the god saw the lights from the city, he believed that the city had been set on fire.

This first full moon of the year is a symbol of happy family reunions and a full and happy life. Now the Lantern Festival is a time for fun.

Hong bao Lanterns for the 15th day

2005-02-18T13:26:00.000-05:00

Lantern Festival is the 15th day of the Chinese New Year celebrations. This full moon marks the end of Chinese New Year festivities. Usually preparations for lantern Festival are made on the 14th day.

Consider making your own lantern. Animal shapes are popular. You can always have the children slit construction paper, roll it and make a classic cylinder -- or have them make a small one from a red hong bao envelope.

Here are more interesting lanterns from those red envelopes. There is a daily limit on the site, but if it is reached, just try the next day - earlier in the day. You may be able to leave the site up in your browser and just press "refresh" in the morning... Once you have seen what has been done, maybe you will also be inspired to make your own. Keep in mind that the dimensions on the envelopes vary considerably. You can make the same design with different envelopes and get a different look -- or you may find that the directions suggest using 5 envelopes but 4 or 6 work better for you.

Honolulu's Chinatown has more on the history and use of lanterns.

Enjoy!