Chinese New Year

Time for Family Reunion Chinese New Year, also called Spring Festival, has more than 4,000 years of history. It is the grandest and the most important annual event for Chinese people. Time for Family Reunion Being one of the traditional festivals, it is the time for the whole families to reunite together, which is similar with Christmas Day in the USA. The Longest Public Holiday The festival lasts for 15 days from the 1st to 15th day of the first lunar month. Most people will have 7 days off work, while students take 1 month break from school.

Holiday Origins from Monster Nian Chinese new year also known as “过年” in Chinese. “过年” means “Nian is gone”. The legend says, Nian was a scary monster that would come down from the mountain to hunt people on the first of each lunar month. To protect themselves, people needed to scare Nian away. How could they do that?

What is Nian (年) afraid of? Loud and frightening noises Fire and lights So people burst out large noises by beating drums and fire when Nian appeared. The monster was forced to back off. Since then, people have kept the tradition by beating drums and gongs, and lighting fireworks at the new year.

Chinese New Year date changes every year It is based on Chinese lunar calendar. It usually falls on late Jan or early Feb. It is Feb 16, 2018 this year. It is the year of Dog. The Year of Dog begins on Feb 16, 2018, and ends on Feb 4, 2019.

The dates of Chinese New Year are different every year because we need to look at the moon… The first new moon= Spring Festival The first full moon= Lantern Festival

There are 12 animal signs in the Chinese Zodiac In order: Rat Ox Tiger Rabbit Dragon Snake Horse Sheep Monkey Rooster Dog Pig

2018 is the year of Dog

Dog Personality Traits Ranking as the eleventh animal in Chinese zodiac, Dog is the symbol of loyalty and honesty. People born in the Year of the Dog possess the best traits of human nature. They are honest, friendly, faithful, loyal, smart, straightforward and have a strong sense of responsibility.

Find Your Chinese Zodiac

How do we celebrate Chinese New Year? House cleaning Decoration with couplets, paper-cuts and lanterns Dragon dance and lion dance Firecrackers and fireworks Family reunion Eat lots of delicious food Wear new clothes

Children loves Chinese New Year especially because they get a red envelop from their relatives with $$$ (lucky money) inside. Really? But there’s a trick…

The trick is: you have to say lucky words to wish people good luck and good fortune! Guo Nian Hao! 过年好 Gong Xi Fa Cai 恭喜发财

Chinese people all over the world celebrate the Chinese New Year. China Italy Philippine San Francisco, USA Los Angeles, USA Australia Spain

See the 12 Zodiac on stamps?

Trivia Questions about China What is the most unique animal from China? Who’s the most famous Chinese girl in kids’ cartoon? Who’s the biggest Chinese Kung Fu star in a cartoon movie?

Here comes the hard questions 1. During the Chinese New Year, what do children receive in red envelopes? a. Candy b. Money c. Stickers d. Toys 2. How many animals are there in the Chinese Zodiac? a. 4 b. 8 c. 12 d. 16 3. Which of the following animals is not in the Chinese Zodiac? a. Dog b. Panda c. Dragon d. Rat

Now the hardest questions! 1. What's the legend behind using firecrackers to celebrate Chinese New Year? a. They're meant to scare away monsters. b. They wake up the gods in time for the celebration. c. They provide light for the dark winter night. 2. What color should you wear for New Year's celebrations? a. Red b. White c. Black 3. Chinese New Year's celebrations traditionally start at the beginning of the month and end on what day? a. 15th b. 8th c. 25th

Happy Dog Year! 恭 喜 发 财

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