Welcome the Year of the Boar!

This month, the Chinese will celebrate and welcome in the New Year of the Boar!  This is a wonderful time to celebrate a holiday tradition celebrated not only in China, but around the globe!  The celebrations will take place over a two week period and will be filled with dancing, feasting, and joy.  This is a great celebration to enjoy with your kids, not only feasting and making merry, but also learning about the meaning of this holiday for the Chinese as well.

The Year of the Boar is known as one of benevolence, a time for good business, but caution with money, people may act quickly and should take some care.  It is a year for great courage and integrity.  Just as this new year will be symbolized by these traits, each year for the Chinese brings a different animal that governs it with particular traits.  Have a read for more History on the Chinese New Year for 2007.

To celebrate with your kids, there are many ideas for a party or a simple gathering of a few friends or the family to celebrate and enjoy the festivity together.

Use red construction paper and invite your kids’ friends to a Chinese New Year celebration.  Ask the guests to wear red!  Also, given that it is the year of the boar, cut out or draw pictures of pigs and add this to your invitation for added festivity.  Write, “Kung Hei Fat Chow” for “Happy New Year” in Chinese!

For Decorations:

Use red throughout the party area for balloons, streamers, and table ware.  Place a pig in the center of your party table with red balloons attached.  At each place setting, have a small red envelope with coins inside, a traditional gift given at the Chinese New Year.  Have the kids take these envelopes home for their goody item.

Cutting out and hanging up pictures of pigs or other Chinese Zodiac animals, red lanterns and any

sort of posters that show China would be great additional decorations.

For Activities:

1. Kaboose has a very good collection of crafts, printables, and other fun resources to enjoy with your guests.
2. Enjoy a Chinese spice game.  In small bowls, put out samples of Chinese ingredients/foods, i.e. soy sauce, tofu, scallions, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, baby sweet corns, ginger, green tea, rice, lemongrass, cashew nuts, etc.  Have the kids taste each one to determine what each one is.
3. Introduce the kids to the Chinese New Year Animals.  Ask each kid which year he was born in, and then tell him about the year of that animal, i.e. their personality traits.  Have the kids make pictures of their Chinese animal.
4. Have the kids write good new year wishes on small red paper scrolls.  Provide them with thin sheets of red paper, and pens.  Have them write down words and wishes for the new year.  They can either take these home or exchange wishes with one another.
5. Make something fun together in the kitchen, like fortune cookies.
6. Have the kids make paper lanterns.  After having made the lanterns, have a parade with your lanterns around your neighborhood just like the Chinese tradition.
7. FamilyFun.com also has additional ideas for games and activities to celebrate. They have a great Chinese Checkers Cake if you are looking to bake!
8. If this is a slumber party, have the kids try and stay awake as long as they can.  Legend has it, the longer the kids stay awake, the longer the parents live!

For the Menu:

Serve dumplings, Asian veggies, i.e. snow peas and baby corn, fried rice, wonton soup, egg rolls, fortune cookies, and orange slices.  Have the kids use chop stix to eat their food!

Additionally, check out Fancy Fortune Cookies for yummy flavors! Serve Chinese Tea as a special drink, and perhaps a fruit-flavored ice cream as well.