Chinese New Year Kung Hei Fat Choy! 14th February, 2010

2010 is the Year of the Tiger 

The Chinese year 4708 begins on 14th February, 2010.

The Chinese Dragon

The dragon is an important part of the new year celebrations and is paraded through the streets. It represents wisdom, strength, benevolence, and good fortune.

Chinese Dragon

Why does the date of the Chinese New Year change every year?

The Chinese use the Lunar calendar for their festivals. The Lunar calendar is based on the time the moon takes to go around the Earth. (The Western calendar is based on the time it takes for the Earth to go around the Sun.)

The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years. In 2009, the Chinese Lunar Calendar added an extra lunar 5th month. This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year.

The first day of each Chinese year will always fall sometime between January 21 and February 21, inclusive, and takes place at sunset on the day of the second (sometimes rarely on the third) New Moon following the winter solstice (21 or 22 December).

How long do the New Year celebrations last for?

Chinese New Year celebrations last for two weeks and end with Teng Chieh, the lantern festival, on the full moon about 15 days later.

The moon chart above shows February 2010. The yellow highlights the start of Chinese New Year on 14th February and and Teng Chieh which starts on 28th February 2010.

The Chinese Calendar

Each year in the Chinese calendar is represented by one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, the Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Some people believe that people born in a particular year such as the year of the Rat will have some of the characteristics of that animal. It is said that "The animal hides in your heart."

Activities

Hong Bow Chinese New Year Red Pocket Create your own Red Pocket or Hong Bow to celebrate Chinese New Year. (When you PRINT please set the 'Preferences' to landscape, else your pocket will be very small!!) HongBow on Kent ICT (lots of red so quite wasteful of ink). Lower ink use version

Download a pdf of how to hold chop sticks.

	Facts about Chinese New Year 2010		The Chinese Calendar - animals
	Chinese Zodiac poster Shows the cycle of the animals.		Animals with dates to display in your classroom
	Chinese Zodiac Poster Shows the names of the animals in Chinese writing