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Were you born in the year of the Dog, the Monkey or maybe the Rooster? Read on to find out more about Lunar New Year and how it is celebrated in some places in Asia.

Do the preparation task first. Then read the article and do the exercises.

Preparation

The lunar calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, so the date of Lunar New Year is different each year. However, it is usually in January or February. As well as being celebrated in China, Lunar New Year is also an important festival in many other places, including Vietnam, Singapore and Korea.

Each year is named after one of 12 animals. A traditional story explains how this came to be. One day, the Emperor decided to have a race for all the animals in the country. Unfortunately, only 12 animals actually managed to get to the race. The Emperor rewarded them by naming the 12 years of the lunar calendar after them. The first to finish was the rat, so the first year is named after him. The other eleven, in order, were the ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

A family celebration

Different places celebrate in slightly different ways, but Lunar New Year is very much a family celebration wherever it takes place. The younger generation greet their parents and grandparents with good wishes for the year ahead and show their respect for the older generation. In Korea this is called sebae. The young people kneel on the ground and bow deeply.

Older members of the family give younger ones cash presents, traditionally in small packets. Red packets are used in China and Vietnam, as red is a lucky colour. Nowadays, many people send money electronically too. It is lucky to send money in certain amounts, for example using the number eight, which in Chinese sounds like the word ‘prosper’.

Traditional food

Traditional foods which are eaten at Lunar New Year often have another meaning. For example, in China, many people eat fish dishes because the Chinese word for ‘fish’ sounds similar to ‘surplus’, meaning you will have plenty.

In Korea, people serve a special soup. Thin pieces of rice cake are boiled in a clear soup with slices of beef and vegetables. The rice cake pieces are round and may represent coins and money. It is said that eating this soup at New Year makes you one year older. People joke that if you have two bowls of soup, you’ll be two years older!

A traditional Vietnamese food is square rice cake, wrapped in leaves. It’s stuffed with pork and vegetables and takes many hours to prepare, so many people buy the cake instead of making it.

Other traditions

There are many other Lunar New Year traditions. For example, in Vietnam, people believe that the first person to enter their home in the New Year will decide their fortune for the year ahead. They are careful to invite someone who is kind, well behaved and successful.

In Korea, families often play traditional board games together, such as yunnori. In this game, teams take it in turn to throw four specially shaped sticks into the air. They move around the board depending on how the sticks fall.

In China, many people have firecrackers, which burn and make a loud bang. They watch street performances, where acrobatic dancers dress up as a lion or a dragon. They dance, accompanied by music and drums.

People celebrate Lunar New Year in many different ways, but all the celebrations are about wishing everyone the very best for the year ahead. What do you wish for next year?

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1. The date of the lunar new year changes every year.
2. In the story, all the animals in the country joined the Emperor's race.
3. Young people in Korea give their parents money.
4. In China, it would be unlucky to give someone 88 dollars.
5. Eating rice cake soup is a way of showing you are now a year older.
6. In Korea, the round shape of the rice cakes does not have any special meaning.
7. Street performers in China may dress up as a dragon or tiger.
8. All the Lunar New Year celebrations are about hoping for a good year ahead.

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Task 2: What do you wish for the new year?

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Task 2: What do you wish for the new year?

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Link video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtAWnKPZhOU&t=84s
Questions:

1. In what countries do people have parties and stay up until midnight?

2. When did the Chinese New Year start this year (2019)?

3. What do people sell on the streets during the Chinese New Year?

4. What colors are considered good luck?

5. What noisy items can you hear at nearly all Chinese New Year celebrations?

6. What are towns and markets decorated with?

7. What do children receive during Chinese New Year?

8. Who gives children these special gifts?

9. Why is it better for children to have more relatives on Chinese New Year?

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Chinese New Year | ESL Lesson about the Chinese New Year

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1. Do you like to stay up late on New Year’s Eve?

2. What do people in your family do on New Year’s Day?

3. What are some customs that people have in other countries for New Year’s?

4. Have you ever had a fifteen day holiday?  How long is your New Year holiday?

5. Do you like firecrackers? Fireworks?

6. Do you like dragons?

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Use the words from the vocabulary box to complete the following sentences. You may need to modify the tense or word form.

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Use the words from the vocabulary box to complete the following sentences. You may need to modify the tense or word form.

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1. At Christmas time, a lot children like to talk about the _________ of Santa Claus and how he flies around the world on Christmas Eve.

2. A four leaf clover is believed to be a good luck __________ for the person who finds one.

3. The traditional Japanese restaurant lit up the entrance with several big paper ________ with candles inside.

4. People came to see the new restaurant ______________ the day.  Visitors came from early morning until closing time late that evening.

5. I’m sorry I’m late. There are so many side streets and alleyways in this town! It is really ________ trying to find your house!

6. There were many of my aunts and uncles and cousins at my birthday party.  My grandparents were there as well.  I had more ________ than friends as guests!

7. This is a very __________ forest.  Most of the trees here are over 500 years old!

8. If you want to mail that letter you first have to seal it in an __________, then write the mailing address on the outside.

9. Happy New Year! I need to go get a big _________ to put on my wall so I don’t forget my daily schedule!

10. My sister likes to ride her bike to school _________ I prefer to walk.