Celebrating Lunar New Year With Kids: Virtual Events, Recipes, Crafts and Fun to Ring in the Year of the Tiger

By Kim Humphrey
Posted Jan 24, 2022 Holidays Parenting

It's time to say goodbye to the Year of the Ox and usher in the Year of the Tiger. The Tiger is the third animal of the Chinese Zodiac. The Tiger symbolizes strength, the exorcising of evils, and braveness. 

The year of the Tiger begins Tuesday, Feb. 1, coinciding with the first new moon of the lunar calendar. While commonly referred to in the United States as Chinese New Year, many East Asian and Southeast Asian countries outside Mainland China also celebrate the Lunar New Year, including Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia, and the Philippines. 

Each country has its own unique traditions and customs to usher in the New Year, but common to all celebrations are coming together with family and friends, gift-giving, and preparing and eating traditional foods. 

Virtual Lunar New Year Celebration

The Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America is hosting a free virtual event at 10 a.m. ET Sat. Feb. 5 to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Attendees will enjoy streamed video performances of dances, acrobatics, and yo-yo tricks by the Madison Chinese Dance Academy, and also watch demonstrations of traditional Chinese crafting and Lunar New Year traditions, including the classic lion dance. The event is free but registration is required.

Chinese New Year

Dragon dances, mooncakes, parades, fireworks, red envelopes . . . most of us are familiar with many of the traditions associated with Chinese New Year celebrations. Lunar New Year is a very big deal in China. Schools and businesses are closed for a whole week and more millions of people travel to their home towns to spend the holiday with family in what is often referred to as "the world's largest human migration." Red is considered a lucky color in Chinese culture, so you will see it in abundance during Lunar New Year festivities. Speaking of red, those red envelopes, known as hong bao, contain money that is given by elders to children. While the traditional foods prepared and eaten during Lunar New Year vary somewhat by region, jiaozi (dumplings), nian goa (rice cakes), and mandarin oranges are considered lucky foods. 

How to celebrate Chinese New Year at home:

- Learn how to say "Happy New Year" in Mandarin

- Try these recipes for kid favorites jiaozi (dumplings) and lo mein

- Make this adorable Chinese Dragon Puppet craft

- Watch a Chinese Dragon Dance performance and learn about its meaning

- Watch this kid-friendly video explaining the origins of Lunar New Year in China

Korean Seollal

Korean Lunar New Year, called Seollal, is one of the most important national holidays in Korea where families gather over three days - spanning from the day before Seollal to the day after - to pay respect to their ancestors, prepare and eat traditional foods, play folk games and exchange gifts. Eating rice cake soup (tteokguk) is an important part of the tradition, as Koreans believe everyone gets a year older on Seollal - but only if they eat their tteokguk! Kids look forward to performing a deep traditional bow (sebae) for their elder family members in exchange for blessings - and New Year's money!

How to celebrate Seollal at home:

- Learn how to say "Happy New Year" in Korean

- Learn the proper way to bow on Seollal (sebae)

- Try this tteokguk (떡국) rice cake soup recipe from Maangchi

- Craft these fun Korean fans and drums and this origami Hanbok (traditional Korean dress)

- Learn how to make your own Yut Nori game, a traditional board game Koreans often play on Seollal

Vietnamese Tết

Vietnamese New Year ("Tết") is the most important national holiday in Vietnam. Similar to Korean Seollal, Vietnamese people celebrate by returning to their home villages for big family reunions involving special holiday foods, decorations, games, ancestral worship, exchanging traditional New Year's greetings, bestowing lucky money on kids and elders, and purification rituals aimed at washing away the bad luck of the old year and welcoming the new year afresh. Lunar New Year's Eve kicks off the celebrations with fireworks, dragon dances, and boisterous parades filled with rattles, gongs, drums and bells meant to scare off evil spirits. The first day of Tết is the most sacred, celebrated with just close family. Family members dress up in new clothes, symbolizing a fresh start to the new year, and children receive a red envelope containing money from their elders. The following days are filled with visits with friends and extended family. 

How to celebrate Tết at home:

- Learn how to wish someone a "Happy New Year" in Vietnamese

- Try this Mứt hoa quả (candied fruit) recipe, a favorite of Vietnamese children during Tết

- Learn the top ten taboos during Tết that are said to bring bad luck!

- DIY your own Vietnamese nón lá ("leaf hat")

Tibetan Losar

Tibet's Losar festival is steeped in their common Buddhist faith with an emphasis on continuous chanting of scripture to expel the evil demons that the Tibetan people believe exist everywhere, and praying for good luck and blessing for the coming year. Families prepare for Losar by buying new clothes, thoroughly cleaning their homes to clear away the bad luck of the old year, and decorating with fragrant flowers and auspicious signs. The centerpiece of the home is the Losar altar, which is a basic Tibetan Buddhist shrine but with additional items meant to invoke blessings and abundance for the New Year. Fun fact: Because the Tibetan words for "sheep's head" and "beginning of the year" are similar, it is customary for families to make a sheep's head out of colored butter as a decoration! Losar festivities last several days and include gathering with family and friends, prayer ceremonies, exchanging gifts, eating traditional foods, and visiting local monasteries.

How to celebrate Losar at home:

- Learn some traditional Tibetan New Year's greetings

- Make khapse (deep fried pastries most often eaten during Losar) and momos (Tibetan dumplings)

- Take a virtual tour of Jokhang Temple, the holiest place in Tibetan Buddhism

- DIY your own Tibetan prayer flags

Mongolian Tsagaan Sar

Tsagaan Sar literally translates to "White Moon," and is Mongolia's most important national holiday. While Tsagaan Sar celebrations and customs have changed several times since the holiday was first established in the 12th century, modern festivities focus on family togetherness and unity, paying respect to elders, passing on Mongolian culture and traditions to the younger generation, and welcoming spring with an optimistic spirt and kind heart. Similar to other cultures, Mongol New Year's preparations focus on cleaning their homes and bodies, with the belief that cleanliness ushers in good luck, and preparing traditional foods. Tsagaan Sar festivities officially last three days and involve visiting with family, friends and neighbors; many special rituals; and lots of eating with an emphasis on white food, which symbolizes purification. 

How to celebrate Tsagaan Sar at home:

- Learn Zolgokh, the traditional Mongolian greeting performed during Tsagaan Sar

- Make Mongolian buuz (steamed dumplings) and suutei sai (milk tea)

- More than half of Mongols live in gers (yurts); watch this video to see how a ger is built

- Make a Mongolian girl's headdress craft

Happy New Year! We hope you enjoyed this tour of Lunar New Year traditions and have fun incorporating some in your own celebrations this year.

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