Chinese New Year is a holiday that celebrates the beginning of a new year according to the lunar calendar. It is considered to be one of the most important holidays for Chinese families, and this year, it begins tomorrow. You know me--I love a party!!
The holiday is generally celebrated with big family gatherings, gift giving, the eating of symbolic foods and display of festive decorations--all focused on bringing good luck for the new year and celebrating the coming of Spring. I plan on taking a little time out today to prepare for tomorrow, and wanted to share some ideas with you as well...
If you're a local, you must try No. 1 Kitchen on Abbe Road in Elyria. I wish I had a recipe to post, but I have no inclination to learn how to cook Chinese food with such a great local place like this one. I was able to purchase a bunch of fortune cookies for my daughter's classroom last week. I also purchased chopsticks and hope to show her classroom how to use them properly on Monday.
I loved this site where the calculator determines your Chinese Zodiac animal for your birth date. It is said that the animal that corresponds to your birthday is supposed to symbolize your personality traits. I'm a goat. :)
This craft is easily done with children. I love this one from Martha--and plan on using it next year when I hopefully have more time to prepare. There are even more ideas here. I also printed out information on the holiday in general and I plan on reading it during dinner with our family tomorrow. Kind of a fun way to talk about other cultures and celebrations.
Happy New Year!
Hi there! Nice little blog about Chinese New Years! I'm Vietnamese and will be celebrating the festivities at my grandma's tomorrow. Lots of fun! Thanks for sharing our culture with your family! Take care and Happy New Year to you too! : )
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to ya too!!! So glad you had such a blast in DC. It must have been amazing!!! Oh, and I love the prints and that heart mobile is precious. TFS!!! I finally posted pics of my scrap room with my Perfectly Charming goodies :-) HUGS!!!
ReplyDeleteno.1 kitchen is our choice for chinese as well!:D now i know what's for dinner tomorrow! those paper lanterns bring back memories! my dad used to make them with us at halloween when we were small tykes. wow, that was a long time ago!
ReplyDeleteHey, I'm a goat, too. We celebrate by making Chinese dumplings. Yum. Happy Chinese New Year!
ReplyDeleteoh, i'm a horse.
ReplyDeleteChinese New Year for 2009 is on the 26th of January: the Year of the Yin Earth Ox.
ReplyDeleteIn Chinese Astrology each sign is represented by an animal. There are 12 animal signs in total, each corresponding to a lunar year, with each sign also having 5 elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal & Water). In certain years, particular elements are more prominent. For instance in 2005, the ‘wood’ element is very prominent so therefore it is 2005, Year of the Wood Rooster. The special combination of the Sign and Element only occurs once every 60 years.
As Chinese Astrology is one of the oldest types of Astrology, the origins of naming the years after animals is unknown. But a popular legend is that Buddha (c.563-c.483 B.C) invited all the animals to visit him, and as a demonstration of thanks to those who came, he dedicated a year to each of the animals according to the order in which they arrived: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.