春节庆祝

02/04/05

儿子上K班时我和LG去儿子班上讲春节, 让孩子们参与做小纸灯笼和画龙. 然后子们举着他们自制的中国艺术品踏着中国音乐翩翩起舞. 一开始他们在班里转圈圈. 后来他们忍不住要和大家分享他们的庆典, 举着他们自制的中国艺术品在整个学校游行  效果很好. 我和LG还得了学校的 HAPPYGRAM for a wondeful presentation to the Kindergarten on Chinese New Year. 儿子那天穿着中国服装很神气, 很骄傲. 之后我们还收到了儿子班上所有小朋友自制的Thanks Cards. 写上或画上他们最喜欢的部分. 

这是我们的 presentation:

1. What is Chinese New Year
Tomorrow will be the Chinese New Year. It is the most important holiday in China. It is as important to Chinese people as the Christmas to people here. The timing of the holiday is determined by the lunar calendar, It varies from late January to early February. The Chinese New Year starts the first new moon of the year. The Chinese calendar names each of the twelve years after an animal called zodiac. The Chinese believe the animal ruling the year is the animal that hides in your heart. Here are the 12 animals (show picture): start with rat, cow, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, house, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, pig and goes in circle again.

The 6 year old children please raise your hand. Can you find what animal is in your birth year?
Cows are born leaders, inspiring confidence in everyone they come into contact with. Methodical and good with their hands, they make fine surgeons and hairdressers.

Now the 5 year old children please raise your hand. Can you find what animal is in your birth year?
Tigers are said to be bold and adventurous with initiative and charm. They tend to make good bosses, explorers or racing car drivers.

You can check your family member's zodiac from the chart.

China is far, far away on the other side of the earth. China is about the same size of American. The shape of its map looks like a rooster. Show picture. Our daytime is China's nighttime. When xxx calls his grandparents in the morning it is their nighttime. Show picture. Right now Chinese People are already celebrating the New Year's Eve. Next I am going to tell you how Chinese people celebrate the new year.

2. How to celebrate
Preparations for the New Year begin the last few days of the last moon, people thoroughly clean the house, get haircut and buy or make new clothes. It is the symbol of removing the old stuff and starting fresh new. People decorate the wall with pictures, windows with paper cuts, doors with lucky signs and paper scrolls around the door, and roofs with lanterns. The luck words contain Happiness, good fortune, springtime, Safe and Wealth etc. The lucky words usually are hanged upside down because the Chinese word for "upside down", pronounce the same as the word "arrival." or "come". Show the "fu" sign. Families will get together; some make dumplings and always have a big dinner in the New Year's Eve. One traditional last dish is fish because the Chinese word “fish” pronounces the same as "wealth". Children will get a special gift from grownups. Guess what kind gift it is?

- Red Packet with real Chinese money inside. It is called lucky money. - Send hong bo and candy.

After the New Year's Eve dinner people will go out to start firecracker. Very load. It is a symbol of scaring the evil spirit away. Children also bring their hand made lanterns to have lantern parade on the street. In the New Year people will dress up and have a big lion dance and dragon parade.

Next we will make some lanterns and dragon and have a parade at the end with Chinese music.

我们在网上找的纸灯笼和龙的简单制做. 可惜没 save the links. 我们准备了材料. 孩子们每样花了10-15分钟.

We truely enjoyed that event. Very rewarding.