Resources for Celebrating Lunar New Year with Young Children

Lunar New Year (also called Chinese New Year) is a 15-day festival that begins with the first New Moon of the lunar calendar. This celebration is based on the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar, which follows the phases of the moon and the Earth’s orbit around the sun.

This year, the festival will take place between Wednesday, January 29th, and Wednesday, February 12th and will mark the beginning of the Year of the Wood Snake. If you are planning to celebrate with the children in  your care, you might enjoy the resources below. 

• Picture Books to Celebrate Lunar New Year.  This list of children’s books, from New York Public Library,  is filled with stories that will help you introduce conversations about Lunar New Year with the children in your care. The list includes Lunar Tale: A New Year’s Adventure, 12 Lucky Animals, and more. 
• Sesame Street: Happy Lunar New Year Song! Tasty dishes, good luck wishes, Happy Lunar New Year! This video from Sesame Workshop invites young children to sing along with a Lunar New Year song. 
• 10 Chinese New Year Activities. This article from the Pre-K Pages blog shares ten festive and easy-to-set-up activities that you can enjoy with early learners.
• Activities & Crafts for Celebrating Lunar New Year with Preschoolers. This article from the G2K archives includes some of our favorite, fun ways to celebrate the Lunar New Year with the children in your care.