Lunar New Year Activities

We love teaching about various holidays around the world! Being able to bring other cultures into our homes teaches about diversity and appreciation for other lifestyles. More importantly, it shows our littles that although we may look or do things differently, we actually have more in common than appears to the eye! The Lunar New Year, which is often referred to as the Chinese New Year, is based on the moon, and therefore the date changes from year to year as opposed to the solar new year which occurs on the same day every year. Today marks the official Lunar New Year holiday, but the celebration lasts 16 days beginning with Lunar New Year's Eve. This is the "Year of the Metal Ox". With the year of the Ox, we should see prosperity, success in business and room for career advancement. We could all use a little bit of that after the past year's hardships due to the pandemic! Here are a few resources to learn about and celebrate the Lunar New Year with your littles! Dragon Dance: Our littles love this book just as much as we do! The lift-the-flap book tells all about how the holiday is celebrated through the eyes of a child. We loved this book so much that we included in in our Holidays Around the World busy bag! Passport to Holidays Around the World: Learn about the symbols and traditions of Lunar New Year with our Passport! KidVision Chinese New Year: Learn some Kung Fu moves and see a celebratory lion dance performance with this PBS Learning Media resource. Chinese New Year Drum Craft: Make a drum to ring in the New Year! This craft re-creates a traditional Chinese instrument called the Bolang Gu, or pellet drum. How will you celebrate? Let us know below!