Chinese New Year Worksheets
We all know of the New year and attribute the seconds before it becomes January first as a time to countdown and a ball to drop in some overpopulated square. Chinese communities celebrate their new year based on the cycles of the moon. Therefore, the celebration often takes place between January 21st and February 20th. As a result, Chinese New Year is often referred to as the Lunar New Year. This is celebration takes place for 15 days and most Chinese cultures observe this by designating a week for a break from work. The holiday centers its focus on relaxation and recovery providing a sense of renewal. A common activity that takes place in many homes is a deep cleaning to help remove any bad luck. In many communities you will notice a series of events that take place over all 15 days. These worksheets will help immerse students in the concepts and thoughts that are observed during this celebration.
Grammar Worksheets:
Year Match - Each year is associated with an
animal sign. The Chinese believe that being born on
a particular year means that an individual will have the characteristics of that year's zodiac sign.
The Zodiac - You will answer a series of true or false questions.
Reading Comprehension Worksheets:
Dragon Dance - We encourage students to explore this custom and better understand it.
Traditions Reading Passage - In China, the dragon symbolizes wisdom,
power, and wealth. The Chinese also
believe that dragons bring good luck. For
this reason, one tradition of the Chinese
New Year is called the dragon dance.
Duilian - A duilian is a decoration people hang up for Chinese New Year.
Duilian are long, vertical red banners that hang parallel on either
side of a door. Each banner displays a saying for the new year.
New Year Lanterns - Decorate and color the Chinese lanterns. What is your
hope for this Chinese New Year?
Puzzle Worksheets:
Word Search - This is an interesting way to approach the puzzle. The clues are missing terms from sentences.
Writing Worksheets:
Sentence Writing - Write five sentences about Chinese New Year. Color the dragon.
Signs - Trace the words and relate them to an animal.
My Zodiac Sign - Tell us all about your sign after a day of solid research.
Interesting Facts About Chinese New Year
In China, this holiday is referred to as the Spring Festival. Which is odd because of the timing, but it is when the coldest days of the year are coming to an end. It is when it just begins to get a little warmer each day until Spring actually hits. As we have already talked about the date for Chinese New Year is not a set date. This is because the holiday follows the cycle of the moon. For this reason, it can take place anywhere between mid-January and min-February. The Festival is technically celebrated for fifteen straight days which makes it China's longest formal celebration.
The Spring Festival was introduced initially as a day to pray for a good harvest. China was founded on farming, so this had a high level of importance for the culture. As time went on, it also became a time for citizens to remember their ancestors as well. In modern times, Chinese New Year caused the largest human migration every year. Children traditionally will all return to parents' home during this period. Most elders live in rural areas, as they begin to retire. Most children live in big cities where their jobs are located. The overwhelming travel period of children from cities to the rural areas is known as the Spring Migration.
Fireworks are often associated with the holiday. How this came to be is a bit of a mythical story. The story goes that a mythical monster named Nian would travel the countryside every New Year's Eve. As the story goes, everyone would hide in their homes from Nian. One brave boy stood up to Nian and scared him away with the help of firecrackers. In today's culture the fireworks are thought to not only fight off monsters, but ward off bad luck. Since the Chinese population is so big, it is thought that the most fireworks in the world are set off the first night of the Spring Festival. In recent years due to air pollution concerns, setting off fireworks has been made illegal in some parts of the country. Families will also burn fake money and gold bars to commemorate fallen loved ones.