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Lunar New Year for kids: 10 ideas to ring in the Year of the Tiger

Lunar New Year begins on February 1st in 2022 —  billions of people across the world will gather with family, honor ancestors, feast on delectable dishes and partake in festivities to spark good luck into the coming year. Lunar New Year for kids is an especially exciting time not only because of fireworks, treats, new clothes and all the attention — but also, lucky money is gifted to commemorate each year of growth. Max Chan, marketing manager from the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience in Seattle, explains, “[Lunar New Year] represents a fresh start and a chance to enter the coming year with vibrance, clarity and renewed energy.”

Though Lunar New Year is observed across Asia in countries like China, South Korea, Vietnam and more, for those of us in the Asian diaspora, the holiday represents additional significance. “Here in America,” adds Chan, “celebration of this holiday keeps us culturally connected with important traditions carried by our families from overseas.”  

With a history of over 3,000 years, the Lunar New Year festival, like most holidays, originates from mythical and spiritual roots. “The holiday is celebrated on the first day of the lunisolar calendar when the new moon comes out, and lasts 15 days until the next full moon rises,” writes author Eugenia Chu in her latest book, “Celebrating Chinese New Year: History, Traditions, and Activities – A Holiday Book for Kids.” The lunisolar calendar is calculated based on the moon, sun and the seasons while the western calendar is based on the sun’s movements only. This is why the Lunar New Year falls on a different day each year, typically between January and February.

Beyond “Chinese New Year”

The term “Lunar New Year” is a more inclusive term than “Chinese New Year,” as it is a holiday celebrated in many cultures beyond China. Also referred to as “Spring Festival” in China, this holiday of hope and renewal is called “Seollal” in Korean, “Tết nguyên Đán” or simply “Tết” in Vietnamese, “Tsagaan Sar” in Mongolian and more.

Yobe Qiu, a mom and educator from New York, wrote “Our Lunar New Year” to spotlight how the holiday is celebrated in China, Vietnam, Korea, Thailand and India in their own special way. “[Asians] are an incredibly diverse group of people,” says Qiu, “and a lot of people celebrate Lunar New Year who aren̵7;t Chinese.”

Ways everyone can respectfully celebrate Lunar New Year with kids

While the pandemic has been difficult for all families, those in the Asian American Pacific Islander community have faced additional struggles due to the over 10,000 reported hate incidents. For everyone who wants to teach anti-racism to the children in their lives, this holiday is a perfect opportunity to teach and celebrate AAPI heritage.   

1. Read books about Lunar New Year

Educating kids about Lunar New Year is an essential first step before taking part in any activities. Here are a few recommendations along with the two books mentioned in the sections above:

• “The Colors of Tết | Màu của Tết” by Ha Huyen (ages baby – 6) about Vietnamese celebration.
• “The Nian Monster” by Andrea Wang (ages 4-8) about Chinese celebration.
• “Mindy Kim and the Lunar New Year Parade” by Lyla Lee (ages 6-9) about Korean celebration. 

2. Watch educational videos

These short videos offer quick overviews about the Lunar New Year as celebrated in these different cultures:

• Meaning of Seollal, or Lunar New Year̵7;s Day, to Korean people, a two-minute clip from Arirang News providing an excellent overview with real life footage of what Seollal is like in South Korea.
• Preparing for Chinese New Year ̵1; Let̵7;s Celebrate, a charming four-minute video about how two small children from an immigrant Chinese family prepare for the Lunar New Year celebration in the UK.
• Tết (Lunar New Year) in Vietnam, a straightforward two-minute video full of information about Tet foods, traditions and more. 

3. Attend a virtual Lunar New Year celebration

Get in on all the festivities from the comfort of your own home. Here are a few of the many online Lunar New Year celebrations taking place around the world:

• “Ring in the Year of the Tiger” Online Celebration hosted by Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art and the Chinese embassy | Saturday, Feb 5, 10 a.m. EST  | Register for live performances of dances, acrobatics and yo-yo tricks by the Madison Chinese Dance academy, Chinese crafting and a classic lion dance. Also checkout the museum’s Lunar New Year Family Zone, full of downloadable fun crafts, artful coloring pages and cultural videos.
• Museum of Chinese in American (MOCA) Lunar New Year Family Festival | Friday, Feb 4-11 | free virtual festivities each day, including a full tutorial on making a lucky lion head for a traditional lion dance, a dumpling-making class, a ribbon dance workshop, a children’s book reading of Brandon Makes Jiǎo Zi by the author and a wishful fish craft.
• Red-Firecrackers – The story of the first Lunar New Year, and The Story of Nian and The Origin of Chinese Lunar New Year Customs | Brooklyn Public Library, Online | Saturday, Feb 5, 1-2 p.m. EST | A spectacular production of dazzling props, colorful costumes, mesmerizing music, fantastic acrobatics and lively dance by top notch performers telling the story of the origin of the Chinese Lunar New Year. 

4. Attend an outdoor celebration

Even if your family lives outside of city centers or areas with major Asian American presence, museums, public libraries, and university Asian student organizations often host Lunar New Year festivities that are open to the public. Below are a just a few examples of free in-person celebrations:

• Chinese New Year Festival & Parade, San Francisco | Feb 19 | The biggest Lunar New Year parade outside of Asia and one of few remaining night illuminated parades in North America. The community street fair features Chinese folk dancing, opera, drumming and more.
• Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience Lunar New Year Fair, Seattle| Jan 29 | Featuring storytimes, interactive lion dance talks, take-and-go craft activities and connecting with community organizations. Also check out the museum’s 2022 Year of the Tiger Coloring Sheet with information about an online story time featuring a Vietnamese folktale about how the tiger got its stripes.
• San Diego Tet Festival | Feb 4-6 | Featuring Naruwan Taiko Drums, firecrackers, lion dancing and more. 

5. Enjoy a Lunar New Year feast

Choose a Chinese New Year dumpling feast, a comforting and delicious dukguk (Korean rice cake soup) dinner in honor of Seollal, Vietnamese Tết holiday specialties like Banh chung (square sticky rice cakes) or a mix of different cuisines!

Whatever type of meal you choose, continue to support local Asian-owned businesses. Sung Yeon Choimorrow, executive director of National Asian Pacific American Women̵7;s Forum, says “While Lunar New Year is typically a joyous and busy time for immigrant-owned Asian businesses, the pandemic continues to place unforeseen challenges… [This] would be a great time to support these local businesses, who are a vital part of our community.̶1;

If you have little chefs at home, making dumplings, dukguk or banh chung together may be a lot of fun, but please beware, each of these delicious dishes can be quite labor intensive as preparations are usually an all-hands-on-deck extended family affair. 

6. Make Lunar New Year crafts with kids

I love this beautiful Double Fish Chinese New Year Craft from Mama Baby Mandarin, created by Jeanne Chang, a mom of two from Los Angeles. “In Chinese culture,” Chang writes, “fish symbolize abundance and good luck.” 

Also, try these Korean fan and drum Seollal crafts from Chalk Academy. You will notice that the Seollal color scheme is a departure from the Chinese red and gold as the holiday takes on a more somber tone in Korea. 

7. Learn about the zodiac animals

The Chinese zodiac and the cycle of 12 animals is used in countries across Asia, including Vietnam, Korea and others that celebrate the Lunar New Year. Here’s a mesmerizing 3-minute video about the origin of the Zodiac animals performed in traditional Chinese shadow puppets. My kiddo loves the book ̶0;Chinese Zodiac Animals̶1; by Sanmu Tang and its quirky personality descriptions of each sign. DAYS, a subscription service for kids sold out of their gorgeous Lunar New Year culture kits this year, but their intricate Zodiac coins mold with bakeable gold clay is available for pre-order.  

8.  Play Lunar New Year games

Kyunghee Kim, a Korean American public school educator, author and poet shares, “On Seollal, everyone wears hanbok (Korean traditional clothing), and we would play traditional games like yut-nori.” Why not give the yut-nori game a try? 

Modern video games like Pokémon Go and Animal Crossing both also have in-game events planned with challenges and festive surprises.

9. Immerse yourselves in traditional music and dance

Watch this Korean Traditional Music and Dance Center of New York Seollal performance featuring iconic fan dance, drum dance and more. Here is a Spotify playlist of Chinese Lunar New Year Instrumental Music to set the mood for your celebration. Last but not least, the Tet playlist ranges from pop dance tunes to classics.   

10. Read ‘Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon,’ make your own dragon and dance

This sweet book by Kat Zhang shines bright with a lesson about celebrating our differences. Draw inspiration from Amy Wu to make a dragon of your own — there’s a dragon craft at the end of the book and many more available online, including this printable dragon craft. Turn on some festive music and have a private dragon dance parade party!