2014-103 Arts - McDougle Elementary School PTA - Fall 2013 Arts Grant Agreement

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Arts in Education Grant—Fall 2013-14 McDougle Elementary School PTA r Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar and begins with the appearance of the second new moon after the winter solstice.It runs for 15 days and is rich in family and community traditions. Because a lunar year is about eleven days shorter than a solar year,the dates for Chinese New Year change slightly from ., one year to the next. For children this is an especially exciting time. Parents and grandparents give them little red envelopes called'hong bao" which contain money.These envelopes are supposed to confer monetary success on the children who receive them.The number five is considered lucky so the recipient might, for example,get$5.2S. Amounts with the number four are avoided,as the pronunciation of the Chinese word for"four"is too similar to the pronunciation of the word for"death." Traditional dragon,lion and ribbon dances are also performed in public places during Chinese New Year These dances are believed to chase away bad spirits. The lion dance in particular requires a lot of skill as two acrobats must work very closely together in order to perform the intricate movements. The Chinese New Year holiday shares many similarities with Christmas celebra- tions here in The West.Families get together to spend time with one another,ex- change presents, and to eat dumplings.The preparation of the dumplings is very labor intensive and is considered a communal activity among Chinese women. Some of the dumplings are prepared and cooked with coins inside, People who eat a dumpling containing money will also be lucky in the coming year! The first day of Chinese New Year it is customary for people to wear new clothes, usually socks and a new shirt or sweater.The color red is considered propitious. Much in the same way that many people in The West believe in the signs of the zodiac,the Chinese people follow a calendar that is based on a twelve-year cycle. Every person's birth year is represented by an animal and people are considered to have certain personality characteristics depending on the year of their birth. The twelve animals of the"Chinese zodiac"are,in order, the rat, ox,tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse,sheep,monkey, rooster,dog and pig.2010 is the year of the tiger and 2011 will be the year of the rabbit. Pairings of husbands and wives or boyfriends and girlfriends are considered more or less favorable based on whether or not their birth years are compatible. T... Page 19 of 21