1. Chinese New Year
February 5th, 2019

2. 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

3. 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?

4. 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

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

6. 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”

7. 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

8. 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.