Chinese New Year for Parents and Kids

Chinese New Year for Parents and Kids - Chinese New Year begins today. The Chinese zodiac is distinguished by 12 animals. 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. Here are activities and ideas for parents to explore Chinese tradition.

• Visit a local Chinese New Year festival or Asian market. WLOX 13 New York lists festivals in several large cities. Many metropolitan areas have a Chinese neighborhood with ethnic markets, events and festival activities. Child Book lists places to visit in each state and Oriental Shopping lists Asian markets. OCA National, the parent site of local Association of Chinese Americans branches, lists some festival events by region.

• Celebrate a lantern festival. Paper globe lanterns are a popular decoration during Chinese New Year, which ends with a lantern festival, says Chinese Fortune Calendar. Lantern Festival lists how-tos for parents to make festive lights with children.

• Make ceremonial foods. The themes of the Lunar New Year -- fertility, prosperity and good fortune -- are reflected in the foods eaten during the holiday. The Chicago Tribune lists general foods and easy ways for parents to enjoy them with children. Dumplings, whole fish, oranges, teriyaki or sweet and sour chicken, spring egg rolls, and stir-fried lettuce symbolize wealth and good luck. Eggs and long noodles mean fertility and longevity.

• Enjoy "dragon" foods. According to Holiday Spot, the dragon is the only mythological beast in the zodiac and the luckiest. The Detroit Free Press recommends eating long dragon beans (string beans will work) and shrimp for the Year of the Dragon.

• Make crafts. Family Fun offers printable crafts like dragon kites and puppets, ribbon dragons, good luck gold fish and paper lanterns for parents. Craft Jr. has a paper dragon activity and Animal Jr. has a dragon mask craft as well as printable masks of all the animals of the zodiac. First-School has several dragon coloring pages and paper lantern crafts.

• Light fireworks. Fireworks were invented in China and form an important part of the Chinese New Year celebration. Be sure to check local ordinances and supervise kids around the fireworks.

• Read stories from modern and ancient China. Apples for the Teacher lists Chinese New Year books for kids with a special emphasis on Year of the Dragon stories. The New York Public Library has a list of recommended reading on Asian history for kids and teens. ( yahoo.com )