{"id":2453,"date":"2021-02-10T13:14:35","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T13:14:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mapsmemoriesandmotherhood.com\/home\/?p=2453"},"modified":"2021-02-11T14:18:18","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T14:18:18","slug":"fun-and-easy-ways-to-celebrate-lunar-new-year-at-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mapsmemoriesandmotherhood.com\/home\/travel-with-kids\/fun-and-easy-ways-to-celebrate-lunar-new-year-at-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Fun and easy ways to celebrate Lunar New Year at school"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Honoring my boys\u2019 cultures and traditions is an important part of being in a multicultural family, and part of that is sharing their heritage with their classmates and friends, too. There\u2019s no better opportunity to do that than celebrating Tet and Lunar New Year at school. My sons\u2019 rank it as one of their favorite holidays, which makes it even more special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been doing Lunar New Year (Chinese) and Tet (Vietnamese) celebrations in classrooms since the boys were in kindergarten, now eight years! What\u2019s really cool is that as the years have passed with the same kids learning about the spring holidays, they have started remembering the food and traditions, and they get really excited when they realize it\u2019s time for our annual party:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMrs. LeRoy, did you bring us pho and Chinese candies?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was born in the year of the pig which means I am positive and generous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo we get red envelopes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s music to my ears!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Preparing goodie bags for our Lunar New Year celebration at school.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If you want to hear some resounding excitement about celebrating the Lunar New Year at school, here are some easy ways to make it happen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teach<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We usually start our parties by briefly tracing the history and traditions of the spring holiday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dating back more than 4,000 years, Lunar New Year\/Tet are basically a combination of several western holidays – Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, and New Year\u2019s all rolled into one. Each year, the Lunar New Year becomes the greatest human migration in history with millions of people traveling all across Asia to visit family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the best ways to teach kids about the Lunar New Year is via a book. Happy, Happy Chinese New Year<\/em><\/a> by Demi is a great one. It describes the traditions and rituals of the holiday in easy-to-understand text and colorful illustrations. For example, part of the preparations for the New Year include cleaning the house and making sure your homework is complete (Those work well in our house!). Lion dances (the big, gorgeous red lion costumes that have a line of people under the costume to make it dance) are also part of the fun – they scare away evil spirits and bring good luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are great resources online and in books to help kids learn the history and traditions of the Lunar New Year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also fun to teach the kids how to say Happy New Year<\/em> in Mandarin and Vietnamese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mandarin: Xin nian kuai le<\/strong>   phonetically: Shin nyan ku-aye leh <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vietnamese: Chuc mung nam moi<\/strong> phonetically: chook moong numb moy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Preparation and sharing of food is central to the Lunar New Year. People spend weeks making special treats for the holiday.  Think of how much food your grandmother makes before Christmas – all of the cookies, Chex mix, fudge and puppy chow. Unlike our Christmas goodies, these traditional Chinese delights have special meanings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n