Chinese New Year

Xin nian hao!

This is just one of many Chinese greetings meaning "Happy New Year". We all know that the New Year starts on January 1 in Australia. However, the Chinese celebrate their New Year later because their calendar is lunar (relating to the moon). Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon and ends with the Full moon 15 days later.

The following photos and description of Chinese New Year at MacGregor in 2005 are by some of our Year 6 students.

This year Chinese New Year began on 9 February and signalled the beginning of the Year of the Rooster.

The sign of the Rooster indicates a person who is hard-working and definite about their decisions. Roosters are not afraid to speak their minds and can therefore sometimes come across as boastful.

This year, as part of our celebrations, our school had the pleasure of a visit from a Taiwanese Puppet Troupe.

We were entertained and enthralled by their performance.

The two most important colours of the Chinese New Year are red and gold. These two colours symbolise wealth and happiness.

Usually, it is traditional to wear new clothes at this time of the year.

Parents or older adults usually give out red pockets to younger children. These envelopes usually contain money.

In our school this year the teachers gave out red pockets containing a Chinese lolly to students who wished them Happy New Year in Chinese.

XING NIAN HAO