Chinese New Year February 5th, 2019

What is Chinese New Year? Why isn’t Chinese New Year on January 1st? Chinese people follow the Chinese Agricultural calendar, so the start of the new year is the beginning of spring. This is why the Chinese New Year is also known as Spring Festival. Celebrations last for 15 days, with special events and activities in cities and countries with large populations of Chinese people. Chinese New Year is an important time to spend time with family! 春节 chūn jié

2019: Year of the Pig According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2019 is the Year of the Pig What is the zodiac animal for next year?

Chinese Zodiac There are 12 animals in the zodiac Each animal represents one year, with different character traits for each Your zodiac animal depends on the year of your birth

Getting Ready for the New Year Clean the whole house Buy new clothes or shoes Get hair cuts Decorate the house

New Year’s Foods Oranges Dumplings Noodles Fish Duck Symbolic for gold or wealth Dumplings Wealth and good transition to the new year Noodles “Long life” Fish “Surplus” Duck “Family unity”

Traditions Clean the house Eat a New Year’s feast together Give children red envelopes with money in them Red couplets Fu signs Fireworks & fire crackers

饺子 jiǎo zi Jiaozi are a kind of Chinese dumpling, commonly eaten in China and other parts of East Asia. They are one of the major foods eaten during the Chinese New Year and year-round in the northern provinces. Jiaozi typically consist of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together. Finished jiaozi can be boiled (shuǐ jiǎo), steamed (zhēng jiǎo) or pan-fried (jiān jiǎo) and are traditionally served with a black vinegar and sesame oil dip.