Gung Hay Fat Choy!! Happy Lunar New Year!!
/Gung Hay Fat Choy!
Wishing you great happiness and prosperity!
Lunar New Year is Tomorrow, Friday, Feb 12th. Students should have received red envelopes to celebrate the day in their February distribution bags.
What is Lunar New Year?
Lunar New Year is the longest and most important festival in the Chinese Lunisolar Calendar and is celebrated in many countries in Asia.
February 12, 2021 is the start of the year 4719! 2021 is the year of the Ox. Lunar New Year festivities begin on the first day of the first lunar month on the Chinese calendar and continue until the 15th of the lunar month, when the moon is full.
Chinese legend holds that Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on New Year's Day and named a year after each of the twelve animals that came. The animals in the Chinese calendar are the dog, pig/boar, rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep/goat, monkey, and rooster. Also, according to legend, people born in each animal's year have some of that animal's personality traits.
Lunar New Year Traditions
Each day of the fifteen-day celebration has its own traditions, such as visiting in-laws, or staying home to welcome good fortune. Families gather together for meals, especially for a feast on New Year's Eve. At Lunar New Year celebrations people wear red clothes, decorated with poems on red paper. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck. Another tradition includes giving cash in a red envelope, called a "hongbao," to children and single adults. Lunar New Year ends with the lantern festival, celebrated at night with displays and parades of painted lanterns.
Learn More
Wing Luke 2021 New Years All Year Round Festivities:
https://www.wingluke.org/events/lunar-new-year-2021/
Lunar New Year books for kids (more for younger elementary grades):
Bringing in the New Year by Grace Lin
This Next New Year by Janet Wong
A New Year’s Reunion by Li-Qiong Yu