On Tuesday it was the first full moon of the Lunar calendar which meant it was Chinese New Year! 
pin Willow class we looked at how this special event is celebrated and why it is important to Chinese culture. We looked at ways people around the world celebrate the special day and days following with activities like sharing meals, giving gifts and setting off fireworks to scare off bad spirits. The children were able to identify which parts of these celebrations were similar to how they celebrate new year on the 1st of January with fireworks and spring cleaning on New Year’s Day.

 

We looked at some traditional meals people eat in different parts of China to celebrate this special day and how traditional dishes vary from the north to south of the country. Then we tried some foods ourselves and opened our fortune cookies to see what our fortune would bring this year.

We looked at why it is year of the tiger, learning about the 12 zodiac animals and how each year has a special animal. We had a look at what our animals our for our birth years and what qualities this predicts we have. Some of us were Ben year of the tiger! Then we had a go at creating some tiger decorations after learning the tiger is a symbol of strength and beauty in China often used to decorate houses.

Chinese New Year in Willow Class 2022