Gong Hei Fat Choy!
Happy Chinese New Year!
This week Team 8 have been learning about some of the things we do to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
On Thursday we had a dragon visit! Each of us had a turn at making it dance and move in time to the music. In china, the 'dragon dance' represents wisdom, power and wealth. It is also said to scare away evil spirits and bad luck. We had a heap of fun dancing.
Everyone improved their cutting skills when they cut and made their own Chinese lantern. We decided to make them red as the Chinese people believe it will bring them luck. They are up in our classroom, so check them out next time you pop by!
We also learned about the custom of giving red envelopes -hongbao in Mandarin and lai see in Cantonese. Each child in Team 8 received a red envelope with a 'small' amount of money, and a New Year 'wish'. We learned that it was important to give and receive them with two hands.
2017 is the year of the Rooster. Make sure you come and have a look at the one we have made on our wall using our hand-prints.
Here is a picture of some of us dressed up in traditional Chinese costume.
Are any of you lucky enough to be going to Lantern Festival in Auckland this weekend check it out here? If you are, we'd love to see your photos on Monday.
All the best for the year ahead!
Gong Hei Fat Choy!
Learning about other cultures and different ways of life are important to help students to understand and respect diverse viewpoints, values, customs, and languages. It also allows them the opportunity to acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes that equip them for life in this multi-cultural world.
-Ministry of Education
It really surprised Lillian and me the day when Anastasia came home with a hongbao with REAL money inside!
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons why we love NZ is because NZ is a multi-culture country. People comes from different countries, speaks different mother languages, having different traditional cloth, etc. We can easily say this is interesting for kids. Meanwhile, we can not deny that this kind of situation make people know how to understand and respect others, no matter where they come from, what colours they are. People are equal. No one is “strange”.