Chinese New Year is celebrated in many countries around the world. Each new year is named after one of twelve animals. 2008 was the year of the rat. 2009 is the year of the ox. People born in the year of the ox are strong and work hard. They are also patient and loyal to their friends.

Listen to a girl telling us about why she likes Chinese New Year, and what she does at this time.

MY FAVOURITE THING ABOUT CHINESE NEW YEAR

We asked some children in Hong Kong to tell us what they liked most about Chinese New Year. Find out just what a red pocket is and lots more. Here's what they told us.

My favourite thing about Chinese New Year is ...

			… ‘lucky money’. People put money in a red pocket, it is called pocket money or Lucky Money. When I have Lucky Money I’m very happy.
			… visiting relatives. New year is the time we eat candies and lucky money is given by parents or relatives. It is also the time we watch the fireworks. I think it is a very meaningful festival. Sometimes we eat turnip cakes and rice cake since we think these will bring us luck. People say ‘Kung Hei Fat Choi’ to me.
			… is getting the ‘lucky money’, buying new clothes, eating turnip cakes and eating candy.
			…eating Chinese pudding because it is yummy and tasty.
			… watching fireworks.
			… saying ‘kung hei fat choi’ to other people because I want to wish them happy new year.
			… watching the lion dances. Two people are inside it. I think it is difficult to do. After you watch you will be very happy.
			…  that I can play with my mummy and daddy, because my mummy and daddy are always very busy!

Thanks to all the kids in Hong Kong who took time to tell us about Chinese New Year.

WANT SOMETHING TO DO NOW?

What's your favourite day? What happens on the day? Where do you go? What do you do? Do you eat special food? Do you wear special clothes? Do you give presents? Do you decorate your house? Tell us about your favourite day. We'll put the best descriptions on LearnEnglish Kids!

Jamilya, aged 10 from the UAE.
Hi! My name is Jamilya and I’m 10 years old. I’m from the UAE. My favorite day is my birthday because I’ve lots of fun then. The best birthday party was in 2009. I celebrated it in the best hotel of the UAE called Burj Al Arab. There was no music at that moment but everything was very nice and very tasty food, especially I liked my birthday cake it was shaped like a square with my last birthday photo in Jumeirah Beach Hotel. I had lots of presents, sweets and chocolate. Many people came to my birthday party: my father’s friends, the whole family and, of course, my best friend Maria. She gave me a box of Patchi sweets.
My family gave me a computer!  

Sophie (aged 7) from Australia says:
My favourite day is my birthday. In 2009 I had my party on the same day as my real birthday. It was in a disco room called Magic Moments. There is a room downstairs that is called the Fairy Cave and I had my fourth birthday party there. My family and friends gave me lots of really good presents this year. A friend called Maeleine gave me a great toy dog and I got a Bratz doll from Uma and lots of books from my family. Mum and Dad also gave me ascooter and a bike and some lollies.
That night we had a barbecue and my best friend Chloe came over with her mum and dad and sister Sarah. My mum baked a chocolate cake that was shaped like a number seven. It had smarties on it.
I love birthdays!

Some more children from Hong Kong talk about their favourite day:
My name is Tommy. I am from Hong Kong. I am 11 years old. I like running and watching TV. My favorite food is bananas. My favorite day  is Chirstmas. It is on the twenty- fifth of December. At Christmas, I get more presents and give presents to my friends. I get a lot of presents, such as TV games, a mobile phone, cakes……and we send Christmas cards and receive the Chirstmas cards. We go to Christmas parties and play some games. Then, we eat a lot of tasty food, such as pizza, pies, crisps, chocoalate…… This day, I feel very happy!

I am Anna. I am seven years old. I live in Hong Kong. I like favourite day is Mid-Autumn Festival. It is in October, play lanterns with cousins and eat moon cake, see the moon. I feel happy.

Christmas is on 25th December. My family decorates my house and Christmas tree. In 2008, my family went to see beautiful Christmas lights. My family went to a party and ate turkey and cakes. I gave presents to my friends. I sang Christmas songs. I gave Christmas cards and played games with my friends. My family felt happy. Anson

I am Libby. I am from Hong Kong. Chinese New Year is on January or February. We have reunion dinner, we will eat fish, meat, tang yuan…… We usually have deep-fried puffs, rice pudding, dumplings and candies, too! Children will also have red packets from adults. Everyone will watch fireworks and buy new clothes. Everyone feels happy!

Hi, my name is Rayson, I am eleven years old. My favourite day is summer holidays in July. Last summer holiday, I went camping with my friend Edwin. We went camping in Sai Kung. We went to the park and played the ball game. I like eating all the food, for example, duck, chips, beef…My favourite food is chicken.

I am Sam. I am seven years old.
My favourite day is Christmas.
On Christmas day, I play TV game.
I go to Macau and I play slide.
I do not eat my favourite food - chocolate.
I do not wear my green favourite clothes.

I am Eddie, I am 10 years old, I come from Hong Kong. My favourite day is Christmas. Every Christmas, we have a party in school, we eat food, play games and sing songs. I like the jelly specially! Jelly is not the only food, there are cakes and a lot of potato chips, too! In the party, we can exchange the presents too. In 2008, I have got a Gundom model.. I feel interested.

My name is Y.T. Chan. I am 11 years old. I come from Hong Kong. My favourite day is Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year is in January. It is holidays to go to China to visit family and eat Chinese food. I like eating rice dumplings and watermelon seeds. My family gives red packets to me. My friends give cards to me. I feel happy. My family cleans home. Next, we go shopping to buy a lot of lovely clothes and firework. I feel happy. I want every day is like Chinese New Year.

I am Jeanna. I am 10 years old. I come from Hong Kong. My favourite festival is Mid-Autumn Festival. We go to aunt’s home to eat mooncake and play lanterns. I play lanterns with my cousins at aunt’s home. After playing lanterns, we go to see the full moon. At last, we share the food with my family. I feel happy on that day.

My name is Gordon. I am from Hong Kong.
My favourite day is summer holiday.
It is from July to August.
I like it because I do not need to go to school.
I play TV games at home.
I eat a lot of ice-cream in summer holiday.
I go swimming and go hiking with my father in summer holiday.
I feel very happy.

Bartek (aged 10) from Poland says:
My name is Bartek. I'm ten years old. I live in Poland. My favourite day is Christmas. During Christmas I visit my grandma with parents & my younger brother and sister. We break down with wafer and than we start to eat. First we drink stewed fruits made of plums. Than we eat a carp, pierogi (dumplings),.borsch & cakes. We sing carols. At midnight we go to a church for a midnight mass. All day is so interesting that's why I like Christmas. It's fun!

Fatima (aged 12) from Bahrain says:
My favorite day is Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Fitr happens at end of Ramadan. I like this day because I get money from my family. I do a lot of things, first I go to my grandma's house and play there with my cousins, then we go to the park or to the mall. I enjoy it a lot.

Fiona from Argentina says:
My name is Fiona. I'm 9. I'm from Buenos Aires, Argentina. My favourite day is Christmas Eve. I visit my cousin in Uruguay. Her name is Nicole, she's 12 I love Christmas because at night I can play computer games with her and I can be with my 15 dogs and my 5 cats.

We have barbercue in the garden at my cousin´s house. We eat icecream for dessert. At midnight we watch the fireworks in the sky. I receive presents from my family. I have lots of fun!

Malena from Argentina says:
I am Malena. I'm from Argentina.I'm 9 years old. My favourite day is New Year. We celebrate with fireworks at midnight.I go to Punta del Este, Uruguay, with my family. We usually eat Arabian food (kibbe and Lajmayin). I decorate my house with flowers and butterflies.I have a lot of fun!!

Miang from Thailand says:
Hello. My name is Miang. I come from Thailand. I would like to tell you about my favourite holiday which is Chinese New Year. Chinese New Year takes place in January/February every year. My family is Chinese, and we celebrate this day too. My aunt cooks some food to pay the respect to God. The dishes are duck and chicken, fruits, cake, and Chinese dessert. My father and mother put the food to pay the respect to God wishing to have a good life. And me? I am waiting for the cake to eat! Delicious, delicious. I like this day very much.

Hieu from Vietnam says: Hi, my name is Hieu, I am Vietnamese. My favorite day is my birthday - 4th January. On this day I usually invite my cousins and my friends to my house. We have a fun party. My grandmother and my mother cook tasty food and buy for me a birthday cake. We sing a song “Happy birthday to you” and blow the candles. Then we eat cake, candies, fruit, drink Coca-cola and play interesting games. I get many presents. This year my grandparents gave me a new bike. My parents presented me new clothes. My best friend gave me a toy which plays music. On my birthday I feel very happy. Thanks everyone.

Pat from Thailand says: My name is Pat. I am from Thailand. I am 7 years old. My favorite holiday is Songkran. It is a Thai New Year celebration. It takes place from the 13th to 15th of April. On this holiday people waterfight. They pour water on each other. It is a lot of fun. People also buy new clothes and they have big parties.

Sandy from Taiwan says: My favorite holiday is Moon Festival. I always visit my grandfather and grandmother, and we always go to the same restaurant on the mountain to celebrate it. At night, we always have a barbeque, and we watch the moon together. I enjoy it a lot.

Janine from Colombia says: My favourite day is Christmas. I stay with my family and get many presents. We dance, play music, sing and enjoy a lot. We eat Christmas sweets and many special food. We decorate our house with colorfull lights. I love Christmas mainly because is Jesus' birthday!

Sameera from Iran says: My favorite days are Norooz. Norooz is become from the first day of spring from ancient Iran. All people clean their house and decorations by new things. All family eats fish with vegetables and rice together. After that we go out to grandfather and mother house. We get present and lucky money. Our holidays are 13 days.

Zhenia from Ukraine says: My favourite day is New Year. We celebrate the New Year on the 31st of December. Father Frost comes with his granddaughter Snegoorochka (Snowgirl) on this night. He puts his presents under the New Year Tree. We have a party and stay up until midnight to see the New Year in and the Old Year off. We cook tasty food for party. People also celebrate  Old New Year in our country . It is on the 14th of January.

Yagna from India says: My favourite day is Deepavali. We burst crackers on that day. We go out and visit our relatives. We eat sweets and savouries. We buy new clothes and wear. We give presents to our kith and kin.

Manuel from Italy says: On Christmas day I am very happy. Me, my family and my grandparents make a big party. In the morning the whole family opens the presents and we have a huge lunch with lots of sweets. On the 24th in the night comes St. Claus - in Italian is called Babbo Natale. I always leave outside in the garden a dish with biscuits and a glass of red wine for Babbo Natale. He always eats everything.

Vy from Vietnam says: My favorite day is Tet, in Vietnamese means Chinese new year. We used to burst firecrackers on this day, but now, we do fireworks instead. In Tet, we eat Banh Chung, the special cake, symbolizes for the Earth and the little white cake, Banh Day, which is the symbol of the sky. These two cakes are wrapped in the banana leaves, then boiled. They are very delicious. Before the New Year's Eve, all family members must gather and have dinner together. Children will give wish for their parents and relatives. At about 11pm, we return to our home, prepare sugar-coated, worship the ancestor and wait to watch the fireworks. The fireworks begin at 12pm, we say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new year. My family prefer to watch it at home because at that time, the streets are very crowded. Then, my parents will go to the pagoda to pray for happiness, good health, wealth and luck for the family. We often stay up late and get up late the next morning. The first day of the new year, we wear new clothes with bright colors such as red. We don't sweep the floor and comb our hair for three day, because if you sweep the floor, your fortune will go out of the door. We visit our relatives, friends and children receive lucky money. In Tet, we also have the special tree. At the North, they have the tree with pink flowers, we call that the Cherry tree. At the South, the flowers are yellow, and we call that Apricot. Tet is a traditional festival in Vietnam, when only the happiness and health come to us.