Chinese New Year

Kung Hei Fat Choy!!
(Happy New Year)
26th January 2009

Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is on 26th January this year. It is the main Chinese festival of the year and it is not a religious event. Let us explore some of the traditions and stories linked to this world-wide celebration.

As the Chinese use the Lunar calendar for their festivals the date of Chinese New Year changes from year to year. The date corresponds to the new moon (black moon) in either late January or February. Traditionally celebrations last for fifteen days, ending on the date of the full moon. In China the public holiday lasts for three days and this is the biggest celebration of the year.

The Chinese calendar is different to ours. It is made up of a cycle of twelve years, each of them being named after an animal. This is very like our signs of the zodiac. Some people believe that people born in a particular year such as the year of the Rat will have some of the characteristics of that animal. January 26th this year marks the next step of the twelve year animal cycle with the Year of the Ox. On the Chinese calendar, this new year is 4707!!

2009 : Year of the Ox

We are very lucky at Peterbrook to be twinned with a Chinese school in far away Beijing. AnZhen No.2 Primary School in Beijing has been our linked school since 2002 and we have a long and exciting shared history of events between our children and teachers. Please click below to enjoy our exciting international developments.