Chinese New Year
February 2008
A time to celebrate culture and family
This Discussion Guide contains the following Activity Sections:
- The Answers to Your Questions
- Problem Solving: Exploring Options, Giving Advice
- Make a Historical and Global Connection: Changing Options
I. The Answers to Your Questions The purpose of this activity is to learn about the origins and traditions of the Chinese New Year.
- Ask the teens to share their knowledge of the Chinese New Year. Do they know when it is celebrated? Do they know what traditions are associated with it? How did they learn about those traditions? Do they know whether or not celebrations differ significantly in China than among Chinese Americans?”
- Ask the teens to read Elaine Shiang’s “Chinese New Year.” Next ask them to pair off and quiz each other on the following new terminology:
hong bao – red envelope filled with the next year’s allowance.
nien - the beast (which also means “year”) that terrorized villages.
Jiaoz – meat-filled dumplings made for the New Year.
huo guo - small electrical pot, like a portable stove: narrow at the bottom, with a large opening.
Shing nien kwai le, gong xi fa cai - Happy New Year, may prosperity be with you. (Also spelled Xin Nian Kuai Le.)
- Here are some additional facts about Chinese New Year:
• There are three ways to name a Chinese year: by animal, by formal name, and by number. (This year is the year of the rat, the year of Wu Zhi, and the year 4705 according to the Chinese calendar.)
• The date of the Chinese New Year is different every year. In 2008, February 7th is the first day of the Chinese New Year. This date is determined by the second new moon after the winter solstice.
• Each year is designated by one of the 12 animals: rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
• Some families prepare for 15 days leading up to the Chinese New Year.
- Have the teens practice writing the Chinese character, Fu, for luck. (See www.chinapage.com/word/luck.html for guidance.)
Resources
II. Problem Solving: Exploring Options, Giving Advice
The purpose of this activity is to ask teens to consider the personal or familial benefits to celebrating Chinese New Year.
- Now that the teens have some facts about how the Chinese New Year is celebrated, ask them to read Gloria Wu’s “Celebrating Chinese New Year’s” to get a personal take on why one young woman loves to welcome in the New Year with her family.
- Wu writes about entering the chaos of her family’s celebration, and that her nai nai (grandmother) is the first one to notice her. Ask the teens to consider a time when they have had a similar feeling, when they felt lost or overlooked at a giant family celebration. In group discussion, ask them why Wu initially feels ignored but then immediately feels special? How does Wu’s cultural and familial ritual contribute to both of those feelings? Are any of the teens willing to share a similar story from their lives?
- For a bonus activity, suggest that the teens make time to play “Countdown to Chinese New Year,” a PBS online game, with a younger sibling or cousins.
Resources
III. Make a Historical and Global Connection: Changing Options The purpose of this activity is to consider the broad community benefits of maintaining New Year traditions, such as those of the Chinese New Year.
- Give the teens time to research New Year traditions from other countries or cultures. Then ask each to summarize her research by pointing out the major similarities and differences between what she researched and Chinese New Year. Also make sure the teens respond to “What are the community benefits of this tradition?” in their short presentations.
- The Chinese Moon Festival is another Chinese holiday associated with the lunar calendar. It is often compared to the American holiday of Thanksgiving because it celebrates the fall harvest and emphasizes food. Ask the students to read background about the Moon Festival at the link below, including the two poems about “moon and home.” Give them time to write a poem on the theme “moon and community.”
Resources
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