Asian New Year Celebrations

Encourage students to discover the traditions of Japan and China through New Years activities and examples of their celebrations.

Genjitsu (Japanese New Year's Day)

This is a special festival in Japan. On New Year's morning, the family dresses in new clothes. They eat soup, black beans, and seaweed (symbolizing happiness).

After the meal, children receive their special New Year's gifts, usually coins sealed in special gift envelopes.

On the second day, the “first writing” or kakizome occurs. Every family member uses the art of brush and ink to write a poem or proverb on a long piece of paper. The results are shared, and some are hung in the home.

Gung Hay Fat Choy (Chinese New Year)

This is a time for families to get together. The Chinese add a year to their age on New Year's Day, regardless of the day on which they were born. It's one big, grand birthday party! It's a time for new clothes, time to fill the home with flowers and fruit, and time for families to remember their ancestors. There are money gifts wrapped in red paper for the children, called lai see, and firecrackers are set off to scare away any evil spirits.

At this celebration, the ceremonial dragon winds its way through the throngs of happy people in the streets. Those who are under the dragon are doing some fancy foot work to help hold it up. It is an honor to be chosen for this task.

Chinese Festival Characters and Colors

The new year festival is named for one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac, on a rotation basis. The symbols for the zodiac are thousands of years old, and they include the monkey, rooster, dog, boar, rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, serpent, horse, and ram.

The joyous colors of the festival are orange and red, and people make pyramids of oranges and apples in their homes for good luck.

The celebration can last as long as a week. There are art exhibits and karate contests, as well as dancing and a parade with papier-mâché figures of the lion. The best part of the celebration is the Golden Dragon Parade, with many people holding up the long dragon as it weaves back and forth along the street. The dragon is a symbol of goodness and strength.

New Years Activities

• Happy New Year in Any Language: Discuss with students how their families celebrate the New Year. Are there special foods served? Is the day or evening spent in a special way? Ask students to interview an older person in their family (their grandparents) to find out how they celebrated the New Year when they were growing up. Students can look for customs that have been retained, and some that may have been lost or weakened. Holidays Around the World by Carol Greene (Chicago: Children's Press, 1982) is a good beginning resource.

• Little Red Envelope: In China, children receive a red envelope with a money gift for the New Year. Perhaps students can receive a little red envelope (or any color) with a treasure message inside that gives them a choice of an activity. They can “spend” it any day during the month of January. (Some suggested treasure opportunities include looking through picture books, painting a picture at the easel, having an extra half-hour exploring at the science table, and so on.)