By Leslie Ferber:

Lunar New Year, or more commonly, Chinese New Year, is one of the major holidays celebrated by Chinese and many other Asian cultures. Many regions have their own traditions, but the theme remains the same: spending time with families and friends, enjoying lots of good food, and taking part in the festivities.

Chinese New Year is generally celebrated for fifteen days. During this period, children are given money in a red envelope called “lai si,” and given candies signifying luck and the ‘sweet life.’ People will also greet each other with fortuitous phrases and extra courtesy.

Every food consumed during this period of time has a very special meaning. Here are some of the nost common New Year’s foods and what they mean:

Fish: abundance

Dumplings: wealth (because it looks like a Chinese gold bullion/bar). Some families put either coins or peanuts in one of the dumplings, and the one person who eats the special dumpling receives extra luck for the year.

Green Onions: Intelligence

Chicken: Luck and success

If you want to take your children to experience Chinese New Year, just head to San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhod to see people dressed in red. During the first couple of days, you may also see people dragon or lion dancing. There’s also a parade on February 20^th to celebrate the end of New Year along with a community fair in San Francisco Chinatown. http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/events/index.html

These are some of the books I like to share with kids during Chinese New Year. Take a trip to your local library to find more titles to share about this special time of year.

Festival Time : Lanterns and Firecrackers: A Chinese New Year Story by Jonny Zucker

This Next New Year by Janet Wong

A New Year’s Reunion: A Chinese Story by Li-Qiong Yu