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Chinese New Year

Kung Hei Fat Choy! 26th January 2009 will bring in the Year of the Ox!

What Is Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year is the most important of the Chinese holidays, and is a time of feasting with the family, celebration, fireworks,  and gift-giving. It is a 15-day holiday, beginning on the first day of a new moon and ending with the full moon on the day of the Lantern Festival.

The Chinese calendar is based on the lunar year, so the date of Chinese New Year changes every year. The Chinese calendar follows a 12-year pattern with each year named after an animal. There are various stories which explain this. The simplest is that Buddha (or the Jade Emperor) invited all of the animals to join him for a New Year celebration, but only 12 animals turned up. To reward the animals that did come, Buddha named a year after each of them in the order that they arrived, starting with the Rat, followed by the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat (or Sheep), Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. (Find another version of the story to print, below)

Depending on the year you are born, you are believed to have the various character traits of that year's animal.

Learn about Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is a fascinating and colorful holiday and as such is a super introduction into a study of China and Chinese culture. Find out all about the traditions and customs of Chinese New Year with Activity Village:
Learn about Chinese New Year Lots NEW!

Learn all about the Chinese Zodiac

Chinese New Year Crafts

Enjoy our collection of Chinese New Year and China-inspired crafts!
Chinese New Year Crafts Lots NEW!

Chinese New Year Printables

We have some bright and cheerful Chinese New Year printables for you, including posters, games, crafts, lucky money envelopes, mini booklets and paper dolls!
Chinese New Year Printables Lots NEW!

Chinese New Year Coloring Pages

We have a growing collection of Chinese New Year coloring pages for you to enjoy with the children.
Chinese and Chinese New Year coloring pages Lots NEW!

Chinese New Year Stories

Read (or print out) "The Story Of The Chinese Zodiac" and other traditional stories from China
Stories from China

Chinese nursery rhymes to enjoy  

Chinese New Year Games

Enjoy our collections of Chinese New Year Games and Traditional Chinese Games - fun for all the family. NEW!

Chinese New Year Jigsaws

We have some super Chinese New Year jigsaws for you to play and download, including these mandarin oranges (a traditional Chinese New Year food), a Lion Dance, Chinese Lanterns, a Dragon dance, and Chinese New Year decorations. You will also find some new jigsaws for the Year of the Ox.
Chinese New Year Jigsaw Puzzles To Download Lots NEW!

Chinese New Year Recipes

Chinese New Year Recipes

Chinese New Year Puzzles and Mazes

We've got all sorts of puzzles, word searches and mazes for Chinese New Year and the Year of the Ox.
Chinese New Year Puzzles and Mazes Lots NEW!

Chinese New Year Origami

Have some fun with our Chinese New Year and China-inspired origami models.
Chinese New Year Origami

More Chinese New Year Activities for Kids

Chinese New Year links Lots NEW!

Chinese New Year
February 7th, 2008 is the first day of a 15 day Chinese New Year celebration. Because it is the most important holiday in China, people take weeks of holiday time from work to prepare for and celebrate the New Year. A lot of effort and preparation goes into making the New Year celebration festive.

Chinese New Year Jokes

Why does an embarrassed panda get mistaken for a newspaper?
Because they're both black and white and red all over!

What’s purple, 10,000 km long and 12m high?
The grape wall of China!

Have you visited our jokes page yet?

Traditional Chinese New Year Rhyme

You'll find whenever the New Year comes
The Kitchen God will want some plums.
The girls will want some flowers new;
The boys will want firecrackers, too.
A new felt cap will please papa
And a sugar cake for dear mama.

More About China

The 2008 Olympics were held in Beijing, China, and I'm sure that you were all as entranced as my family was by the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies! We created a "theme" about China and the Beijing Olympics, which includes geographical information about China and associated printables, fascinating facts about the Great Wall of China, flag-inspired activities, and much more...

China for Kids

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