The Origin Story Of Chinese New Year?
Chinese New Year, also called Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival, is all about fresh starts and new beginnings. It’s a huge celebration based on the Chinese lunar calendar, and it comes with loads of fun traditions like lighting firecrackers and wearing red! Ever wondered why? Well, legend has it that a scary monster named Nian used to come out of the sea every New Year’s Eve to terrorise villages. But the villagers figured out that Nian was terrified of loud noises and the color red. So, they put up red decorations and set off firecrackers to scare it away. And just like that, a tradition was born!
Starting from 29th January 2025, the 16 day Spring Festival kicks off to welcome the Year of the Snake. In the Chinese zodiac cycle of 12 animals, the snake is number six. This year is all about wisdom, intuition, and transformation.
How Treetops Childcare Centres Celebrates Chinese New Year
At our Treetops early learning childcare centres in Botany and Pukekohe, we love celebrating different cultures, and Chinese New Year is no exception! It’s a great way to teach our tamariki about traditions in our community while having heaps of fun.
We celebrate by dressing up, trying out arts and crafts, and even dancing to traditional music. And, of course, food is a big part of the fun! Some of our awesome parents even took time out of their busy schedules to join us, showing the kids how to make traditional treats like steamed buns (bao) and dumplings.
Fun Chinese New Year Crafts for Kids
We get super creative with arts and crafts, and here are some fun activities you can try at home as well:
Paper Cutting (Jianzhi)
Window Flowers (Chuanghua)
- Fold a square piece of paper into quarters.
- Cut small patterns along the folded edges.
- Unfold it to reveal a beautiful lace-like design.
Simple Animal Silhouettes
- Fold a piece of paper in half.
- Draw half of an animal (think rabbit, fish, or bird) along the fold.
- Cut it out and unfold to see the full shape!
Other Festive Crafts
- Lanterns – Bright red paper lanterns bring good luck.
- Red Envelopes (Hongbao) – These represent blessings and are traditionally filled with money.
- Spin Drums (Bo Lang Gu) – A fun little percussion instrument kids can make and play with.
We are culturally diverse, and we celebrate this by teaching our children about different cultures and traditions through arts and crafts, music and dance, storytelling, and food. Come have look at what our Treetops early learning childcare centres are all about. We are looking forward to welcoming to our hapori (community).
For more information about Chinese New Year or if you’d like to find out which zodiac sign you are, you can visit their website by clicking here.
