The Lunar New Year
Vocabulary
| lunar | celebrate | all over the world |
| last (2) | thing (2) | chopsticks |
| ready | haircut | get/got/got-gotten |
| fresh | get ready | give/gave/given |
| dust | sweep out | sweep/swept/swept |
| huge | puppet | make sure |
| grand | share (3) | sit/sat/sat |
| parade | dish (2) | eat/ate/eaten |
| use | lettuce | decoration |
| clean | duck (2) | each other |
| life | cookies | hold/held/held |
| visit | noodle | hold up (2) |
| lion | happiness | martial arts |
| treat | come by | run/ran/run (2) |
| wealth | mean (3) | it takes a lot |
| at last | good luck | take/took/taken |
| feast | go off (2) | as many as |
Video
Transcript
Happy Lunar New Year!
People celebrate Lunar New Year in China and all over the world. The celebration lasts for 15 days in January or February.
What are some things people do to get ready for the New Year?
First people get haircuts and new clothes. That gives them a fresh start for the New Year.
Then families clean the house; they make sure to sweep out all the old dust.
Families have huge feasts. Everyone sits at a big grand table and shares every dish. They use chopsticks to eat their food.
At this feast, people eat lettuce for wealth, duck for happiness, long noodles for a long life. And cookies as a special treat.
People visit friends and family. They give each other oranges for good luck. There are lots of red decorations for lunar new year. In China red is the color of happiness. Here are some lion dancers. They dance and run and do martial arts.
Now it’s time to go to the parade. At the end of the parade there is a big dragon puppet it takes a lot of people to hold this dragon up — sometimes as many as 50 people are holding it.
When the dragon comes by lots of firecrackers go off. That means Lunar New Year is here at last.
Questions
Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year. The traditional Chinese New Year is from the 31st of December to the 1st of January. True or false?
Valentine’s Day. Is the Lunar New Year only celebrated in China?
Maslinitsa. How do people prepare for the Chinese New Year?
Carnival. For the Lunar New Year feast, people eat roast turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie. Is this right or wrong? Do they use knives and forks?
Easter Holiday. Is gold the color of joy, good fortune and prosperity in China?
Spring Break, Spring Vacation. For the Chinese New Year festival, it’s mostly women who dance. Is this correct or incorrect?
Summer Vacation. Is the New Year celebration a quiet occasion?
Halloween. We celebrate New Years in my town, city, region and country. Yes or no? How do people celebrate New Years?
Thanksgiving Day. Are there Chinatowns or Chinese neighborhoods in your city? Do they have Lunar New Year celebrations?
Winter Solstice. Do you have a favorite color?
Christmas. What might happen in the future?
New Years. What could or should people do?
