Chinese New Year is a traditional holiday that is very important in China. It’s also known as the Spring Festival, which is the literal translation of the modern Chinese name. Traditionally, Chinese New Year would begin on the last day of the month in the Chinese calendar, Chinese New Year’s Eve, and would end on the fifteenth day of the first month – the Lantern Festival. This makes it the longest festival in the Chinese calendar. Another name for it would be the Lunar New Year, this means that it follows the phases of the moon and the time of the solar year.
Each Chinese New Year is characterised by one of 12 animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac. The Chinese zodiac is divided into 12 blocks (or houses) just like its western counterpart, but with the major difference being that each house has a time-length of one year instead of one month.
This year it's the Year of the Monkey, the ninth animal in the cycle. The next Year of the Monkey will be in 2028.
We celebrated in Miss McDermott’s Primary 2 class by making Monkey masks and Chinese lanterns.
One of the pupils brought in Fortune cookies to share with the class.
