Lunar New Year 2024 Teaching Resources
Welcome the 2024 Lunar New Year (sometimes called the Chinese New Year) with your pupils with a host of classroom-ready worksheets, printables and activities for kids — created by teachers, for teachers!
Whether you're looking to teach early years students about this important event to broaden their cultural horizons, or teaching your older students about Lunar New Year as you study world history, we have you covered! Explore printable and digital resources that have been through a rigorous review by the teachers on our team to ensure they're ready for your lesson plans ... and your classroom!
Haven't taught about Lunar New Year before? Or are you just looking for some fresh ideas? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including important Lunar New Year dates, this year's animal sign and more!
What Is Lunar New Year? A Kid-Friendly Definition
If you're introducing this cultural celebration to your pupils for the first time, it helps to have a definition at hand to explain what Lunar New Year is. Here's a great way to help students get acquainted with this event:
Lunar New Year is a holiday celebrated by people in many East Asian countries, such as China and Korea.
It's also known as the Spring Festival, and it's a time when people in East Asia welcome the start of the new year according to a lunar calendar, or a calendar that is based on the cycles of the moon.
When Is Lunar New Year 2024?
Much of the world celebrates the new year on 1 January, but the Lunar New Year does not match the traditional calendar year. That means this year, the Lunar New Year will begin 10 February 2024.
This event celebrated by millions of people around the world, kicks off at the beginning of a calendar year based on the cycles of the moon — hence the name 'lunar' new year. Because it's based on the moon, the actual date of the Lunar New Year varies from year to year.
In some places, Lunar New Year festivities last for weeks, ending with the traditional Lantern Festival, which is held on the day of the first full moon of the year. Also called the Shangyuan Festival, the special culminating event will be held on 24 February 2024.
What Animal Is the New Year Animal of 2024?
This topic is always a hit with young students! Each year is associated with one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, which means that each year is assigned its own animal sign and known as the 'year of' that animal.
The Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, marks the transition from one animal to the next. The Lunar New Year in 2024 marks the beginning of the Year of the Dragon.
Year of the Dragon art activities for kids like the one seen above are perfect for marking Lunar New Year 2024 in the classroom.
Because the dragon represents good luck in many East Asian cultures, 2024 is being hailed as a good luck year!
Other animals of the zodiac include:
- Rat
- Ox
- Tiger
- Rabbit
- Snake
- Horse
- Goat
- Monkey
- Rooster
- Dog
- Pig
Why not have students look up the year they were born to find out what animal is associated with their birth year?
Lunar New Year vs. Chinese New Year — What's the Difference?
Your students may tell you that they have heard this holiday referred to as Chinese New Year. No, they didn't mishear! People from China celebrate this holiday annually with a special festival, which is why it's often called Chinese New Year.
However, this isn't a holiday that's singular to China. Many people from around East Asia also mark the start of a new year at this time, including people of Japan, Korea, Tibet and Vietnam. Here are some other names for the holiday that you may want to share with your pupils:
- Chinese Chunjie
- Vietnamese Tet
- Korean Solnal or Seollal
- Tibetan Losar
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Dominate the Dragon – Mental Maths Worksheets
Capture your students' interest in maths drills for all four operations with these fun dragon-themed differentiated maths worksheets.
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Chinese Dragon Puppet – Craft Activity
Bring the Chinese dragon to life with this dragon puppet craft activity.
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How to Draw a Dragon Directed Drawing
Teach your pupils how to draw a dragon with a printable guided drawing worksheet.
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Chinese New Year Comprehension Worksheet
Read and learn about Chinese New Year with a reading comprehension passage and worksheet.
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East Asian Dragon Art Activity
Print a creative Chinese dragon art activity for kids to celebrate Lunar New Year in the classroom.
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Lunar New Year Mini-Workbook
Read, research and learn about the Lunar New Year with this activity book.
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Lunar New Year Colouring Pages
Celebrate Lunar New Year with these mindfulness Lunar New Year colouring pages.
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Chinese New Year Hat Templates
Make a Chinese New Year hat with the animals that represent each year.
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Chinese New Year Informational Poster
Teach about Chinese New Year with this informational poster.
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Lunar New Year Word Wall Vocabulary
Fifty-eight Lunar New Year related vocabulary cards for a word wall.
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Asian Zodiac Calendars Poster Pack
A set of posters showing the Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese zodiac calendars.
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A Story of the Zodiac Animals and Activity Task Cards
Read and learn about the Chinese zodiac animals with a zodiac animal reading passage and a set of 12 matching activity task cards.
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Chinese Zodiac Poster
Display these posters to teach your students about the Chinese Zodiac.
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Lunar New Year PowerPoint
Learn all about the Lunar New Year celebration with an instructional slide deck.
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Year of the Dragon – Paper Lantern Craft
Celebrate the Year of the Dragon with this Chinese New Year paper lantern craft activity.
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Year of the Tiger - String Puppet Craft Template
A Lunar New Year-themed 'Year of the Tiger' string puppet template.
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Tiger Drawing Activity - Lunar New Year
A fun tiger drawing activity to celebrate Year of the Tiger.
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Paper Cut Tiger Template - Lunar New Year
A tiger-themed fine motor cutting activity for Lunar New Year.
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Puppy Dog String Puppet Craft Template
A simple puppy dog string puppet template.
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Year of the Dog String Puppet Craft Template
A Lunar New Year themed 'Year of the Dog' string puppet template.
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Pig String Puppet Craft Template
A simple pig string puppet template.
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Year of the Pig String Puppet Craft Template
A Lunar New Year themed 'Year of the Pig' string puppet template.
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Chinese New Year – Mindful Colouring Sheet
Celebrate the Chinese New Year with a mindful colouring worksheet.
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Year of the Rat - Paper Lantern Template
A craft activity to help celebrate Chinese New Year!