Friday, February 12th, marked the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year, China’s biggest holiday, which is celebrated throughout the world. –
2021 is the year of the Ox
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According to Chinese astrology, each year is associated with an animal as well as one of five elements, including gold (metal), wood, water, fire or Earth. The element, combined with the zodiac animal, sets the astrology for the year.
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In past years classrooms have hosted parent visitors who gave wonderful presentations on Chinese New Year. They read stories, talked about Chinese customs and ways of celebrating the New Year, and the importance of the color red, made crafts, and cooked Chinese dumplings with the children. This year the classrooms experienced presentations from parents via Zoom. It was a wonderful way to experience this holiday and culture.
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The book, Lin Yi’s Lantern: A Moon Festival Tale by Brenda Williams and Benjamin Lacombe was shared with the Upper Elementary students to commemorate the start of the Lunar New Year, also known as the Chinese New Year. In the spirit of the red envelope tradition, the students created red envelopes, and instead of money, they wrote well-wishes to loved ones to put inside the envelopes.
Lower Elementary students enjoyed presentations that used visuals, stories, and games to provide our students a window into the cultural celebrations of Korean and Chinese New Year. A Zoom presentation was given by a group of Lower Elementary parents about Chinese New Year, and Mrs. Suh shared information about the Korean New Year.
