5 Fun Chinese New Year Activities (+ facts for families to share)
Chinese New Year is just two days away.
If your family is celebrating, happy new year! We've put together five fun activities (below).
If your family doesn't celebrate Chinese New Year, we've also included some info and activities that you can share with your children.
Learning about different cultures is a great way to develop empathy and understanding of our individual differences and perspectives.
Activity 1: Make Paper Lanterns
Recommended for ages 2 - 8
These were a lot of fun for my kids to make.
My three year old was able to colour his and do a bit of the cutting. My six year old was able to complete his independently.
Then we added batter-operated tea lights to them and put them on the table for decoration.
Click here to download the 5 different templates.
If you're looking for an even easier activity, click here to download Lantern Colouring Pages.
Activity 2: Chinese New Year Clothes Pin Cards
Recommended for ages 3 - 4
In a Montessori classroom, an activity like this would be done with clothespins, where the child clips the clothespin over the correct number symbol.
This is a great way to add fine motor development into the activity.
You can also do the activity by simply having your child circle the number with a pencil or marker.
Click here to download the Chinese New Year Clothes Pin Cards.
Activity 3: Chinese New Year Cutting Work
Recommended for ages 2 - 5
These cutting sheets are great because they're less messy than cutting strips that leave lots of little bits of paper.
Children can cut along the dotted line until they reach the object.
Click here to download the Chinese New Year Cutting Work.
Activity 4: Chinese New Year Language Cards
Recommended for ages 2 - 8
These cards can be used in 3 ways, depending on the child’s language development.
For younger children, the purpose is to enrich vocabulary. For older children, the purpose is to develop literacy skills.
We've also included a page with the meaning behind each symbol or decoration to help make the cards more meaningful, as well as enhance their knowledge about Chinese New Year.
Click here to download the Chinese New Year Language Cards.
Activity 5: Cook a Simple Chinese New Year Dish
Recommended for ages 2 - 10+
If your child is currently showing an interest in helping in the kitchen, try out one of these simple recipes:
Facts About Chinese New Year
For families that don't celebrate, here's a few quick facts to help your family learn more about this holiday:
- Chinese New Year is an annual 15-day festival, celebrating the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. Of all the Chinese festivals celebrated throughout the year, the Lunar New Year is the most important.
- This festival takes place from Chinese New Year's Eve (Tuesday, January 28) to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the new year.
- On New Year's Eve, Chinese families gather for a reunion dinner. Traditionally, every family would thoroughly clean their house, symbolically sweeping away any ill fortune to make way for incoming good luck. Windows and doors may be decorated with symbols of good fortune, happiness, wealth, and longevity. Other activities include lighting firecrackers and giving money in red envelopes.
- Each year is represented by one of the twelve zodiac animals. This is the Year of the Snake, an animal best known for its wisdom.
- The Lantern Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth (last) day of Chinese New Year celebrations. This year the Lantern Festival will be on February 12th, 2025. During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns.
- The lanterns symbolize people letting go of the past year and welcoming the new year with good fortune. The lanterns are almost always red to represent good fortune.
You might also want to check out these books from the library or in the shop:
