Happy Lunar New Year! Lunar New Year, also referred to as Chinese New Year, starts on Feb. 1 this year.

You may be wondering why this “new year” doesn’t start on January 1st as is celebrated by most of us in the west. Well, the Lunar New Year is based on a lunar calendar that watches the phases of the moon to help tell dates and times. Since the moon phases don’t have an exact amount of dates per month the new year will always land between the end of January to the middle of February.

Did you know: ⅙ of the world’s population celebrates Lunar New Year each year!

The festivities happen largely in many Asian countries, but none are bigger than the ones in China. Lunar New Year is a 15 day-long festival! During this time people may clean out their houses, get new haircuts, or settle disagreements to welcome in the New Year. On New Year’s night, many families will make dumplings together and eat long noodles, both are supposed to bring you luck and health.

Lunar New Year also is associated with a zodiac calendar. There are 12 years in a cycle, and each year in that cycle represents an animal.

2022 is the year of the Tiger!

Find the year of your birth on the calendar to the left.

I was born in the year of the rabbit, how about you?

The Chinese have long associated a person’s birth year with the attributes of its coordinating animal.

For example, as I was born in the year of the Rabbit, it might be said that I am imaginative, thoughtful, cautious and quick!

Look through the list of attributes on the right that match your own Zodiac animal.

Do you feel those characteristics are an accurate reflection of your personality, skills or interests?

Let’s Celebrate!

This month, K-12 students across our region joined us in celebrating this colorful holiday through our campus outreach program (Art-To-Go).

K-2nd crafted paper tiger lanterns, complete with stripes and the symbol for Tiger in Mandarin Chinese.

3rd to 6th graders learned the ancient art of tangrams and solved each animal puzzle of the Zodiac! They went home with a magnetic puzzle tin to solve future puzzles!

JH/HS students crafted a lucky Yuanbao keychain. (Yuanbao were gold weights used as currency in ancient Chinese cultures. We sculpted them from clay, painted them gold, and added a calligraphy tiger and lucky red tassel.