2016 Chinese New Year falls on February 8. It is the Year of the Monkey according to Chinese zodiac. Celebrating the Spring Festival is a great way to experience traditional Chinese folk customs! Chinese New Year has more than 4,000 years of history!

Before the Spring Festival, every family will have a thorough house cleanup and go shopping for festival items. The spring couplets, Fu Character, and the animal paper cut are hung for decoration. Also, new clothes must be bought, especially for children. At the reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve, people from north will eat dumplings and people from the south will eat Niangao (glutinous rice cake). Red Envelopes are given to kids and elders to share the blessing.

Celebrate the year of the monkey during your morning meeting! Learn how to correctly speak a New Year Greeting in Chinese.

In the video below you will learn all about the traditions and legends that make Chinese New Year the most exciting time of the year in Chinese culture. Join the celebration at http://www.celebratecny.com

Read: Sam and the Lucky Money by Karen Chinn, Cornelius Van Wright (Illustrator), Ying-Hwa Hu (Illustrator)

Detailed descriptions of the sights and sounds of the Chinese New Year celebration! Sam receives four bright red envelopes decorated with shiny gold emblems as part of the traditional Chinese New Year celebration, each containing a dollar. He accompanies his mother through Chinatown and realizes that the “lucky money” won’t buy as much as he had hoped. His mood is further sobered after an encounter with a man he stumbles upon in the street. He nobly, though not surprisingly, concludes that his four dollars would be best spent on the barefoot stranger.

Below is a Google Slide that can be used for a read aloud.

Imagine working for one of the largest manufacturers of fortune cookies! What fortune(s) would you write? Watch the video below and actually make paper fortune cookies for your friends and family!
Make fortune cookies for your friends and family.

Below are five more facts about groundhogs and their special day!

1. A groundhog’s life span is usually six to eight years. Litters are normally born mid-April or May, and by July the young animals are able to go out in the wilderness by themselves. However, while in captivity, groundhogs have been known to live for up to 22 years. They can grow up to 3 feet in length and can weigh as much as 30 pounds.
2. Groundhogs are vegetarians. While they do sometimes eat insects, they mostly consume greens, fruits and vegetables. They also drink surprisingly little water. They get most of their liquid from the dewy leaves they eat.
3. Groundhogs are also known as “whistle pigs” because of their ability to sit up on their hind legs and make a loud, high-pitched whistle sound. They use this noise an alert about oncoming dangers, like coyotes or eagles. They also use this sound during the spring when they begin mating.
4. The tradition of Groundhog Day was brought over by German immigrants in the late 1800s. The town of Punxsutawney,Pennsylvania eventually became the center of the tradition. At the time, the “unburrowing” ceremony was planned by members of Groundhog Lodges, meant for socializing with others and enjoying meals.
5. The original custom never involved groundhogs. The Europeans originally used badgers or sometimes bears as their weather forecasters, as both animals hibernate and wake up when the days become longer and the sun’s angle becomes higher.

For even more facts about Groundhog Day…

Read: Groundhog Day by Gail Gibbons

Every February 2, people all across the country wonder about the groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. Will he see his shadow on that day or won’t he? Will spring come early or late? Here is information about Groundhog Day, its origins, and the animal at the center of this delightful annual event.

You can find more books about groundhogs @ 394.26

In the comment section below tell me 3 additional facts about the groundhog and 1 remaining question you have about the groundhog.

Happy researching!