Celebrate Lunar New Year 2024 (February 10, 2024 - January 28, 2025) all year long! 2024 is the Year of the Wood Dragon.
Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, celebrates the arrival of spring and the start of a new year based on the Chinese lunisolar calendar, which simply means that the Chinese calendar relies on both sun and moon cycles to calculate dates. Other Asian countries with Chinese influence also celebrate Lunar New Year, with festivals and family gatherings.
The Dragon is a symbol of leadership, intelligence, and passion in Chinese culture. In Chinese mythology Dragons are regal, celestial animals associated with luck and gold. People born under the Wood Dragons are intuitive, prosperous, and usually have many friends.
Traditionally, the Lunar New Year is celebrated for fifteen days with symbols and activities of good fortune and prosperity: red decorations, house cleaning, shopping in open-air markets, and, of course, fireworks! People perform Dragon Dances and Lion Dances, in which dancers wear large, elaborate costumes and tell a story through dance. Children receive gifts of money or candy in red envelopes for good luck. On the final day of the holiday, called Lantern Festival, people have tangyuan, sweet glutinous rice balls, and children carry lanterns to light up their neighborhoods at night.
- How to say "Wishing you a prosperous year!"
- Simplified: 恭喜发财! "Gong Xi Fa Chai!" (Mandarin)
- Traditional: 恭喜發財! "Kung Hei Fat Choy!" (Cantonese)
Learn more about the Year of the Dragon
Learn more about how Chinese people celebrate the Lunar New Year
Check out these children's non-fiction books about the Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year!
Children's books about dragons and the Lunar New Year.
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