| Chinese Year | Western Year | Start Date | Symbol |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4722 | 2025 | January 29 | Snake |
| 4721 | 2024 | February 10 | Dragon |
| 4720 | 2023 | January 22 | Rabbit |
| 4719 | 2022 | February 1 | Tiger |
| 4718 | 2021 | February 12 | Ox |
| 4717 | 2020 | January 25 | Rat |
| 4716 | 2019 | February 5 | Boar/Pig |
| 4715 | 2018 | February 16 | Dog |
| 4714 | 2017 | January 28 | Rooster |
| 4713 | 2016 | February 8 | Monkey |
| 4712 | 2015 | February 19 | Goat |
| 4711 | 2014 | January 31 | Horse |
| 4710 | 2013 | February 10 | Snake |
| 4709 | 2012 | January 23 | Dragon |
| 4708 | 2011 | February 3 | Rabbit |
| 4707 | 2010 | February 14 | Tiger |
| 4706 | 2009 | January 26 | Ox |
Chinese New Year is a very important holiday in China. It is celebrated in late January to early February (depending on the year). It is also called the Spring Festival because it marks the end of the winter and the beginning of the spring in the Chinese calendar. Chinese New Year starts on a New Moon and ends with the lantern festival on the full moon 15 days later.
In 2025, Chinese New Year starts on January 29. In the Chinese calendar, it is the year 4722, and the Year of the Snake.
A common Chinese New Year’s greeting in Cantonese is “Gung hay fat choy,” which means “May you become prosperous.” On Chinese New Year, the themes of happiness, wealth, and longevity are celebrated. On Chinese New Year, families reunite, special foods are eaten, fireworks are lit, and children receive money in lucky red paper envelopes.
Chinese New Year Crafts
These crafts projects are for preschool, kindergarten and elementary school children. The crafts use materials found around the house, like cardboard, paper, boxes, string, crayons, paint, glue, etc. See a page about color mixing to see how to combine paint to make all the colors of the rainbow.
Make a paper Chinese Lantern for Chinese New Year.
Make a paper tangram puzzle (‘seven clever pieces’) for Chinese New Year.
Create your own fireworks picture by using black construction paper, glue, and different colors of glitter. Great for Chinese New Year.
Make a dancing paper lion or dragon toy for Chinese New Year.
An easy way to make a panda and other cute puppets.
Short Books to Print
A Book for Early Readers: Read it online or print it out!
Chinese New Year Picture Dictionary - A Book to Print. Cut out each page and staple them together in the right order to make a tiny book. Then write each word in the book. Words: dog, dragon, goat, horse, monkey, ox, pig, rabbit, rat, rooster, snake, tiger.
Chinese New Year Cut-and-Paste Picture Dictionary - A Book to Print. Color, cut and paste the pictures in the right places. Then write the words under the pictures. Cut out each page and staple them together (in the right order) to make a tiny book. Words: dog, dragon, goat, horse, monkey, ox, pig, rabbit, rat, rooster, snake, tiger.
This is a tiny, printable book about simple words related to Chinese New Year – for early readers and writers.
A short, printable activity book on the Chinese New Year for fluent readers, with pages on New Year traditions, the Chinese Zodiac, the phases of the moon, and a map of China.
This is a short, printable activity book on the Chinese numbers from 1 to 12.
This is a short, printable book about Chinese animals for early readers.
This is a short, printable book about the giant panda for fluent readers.
This is a short, printable book about farm animals in Chinese for early readers.
Activities/Information about China and Chinese New Year
Chinese Zodiac Word Wheel: This 2-page print-out makes a Chinese zodiac word wheel; it consists of a base page together with a wheel that spins around. When you spin the wheel, animals from the Chinese zodiac appear, including: rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat/ram, monkey, rooster, dog, pig, rat, ox, and tiger. The student then writes down the animals in the Chinese zodiac.
Chinese Zodiac Printout: The Chinese calendar has a 12-year cycle, and the 12 signs of the zodiac represented by animals.
Match 10 Chinese Zodiac animal words to their pictures, in this printout for early readers.
Fill out this grammar potpourri printable worksheet for Chinese New Year words.
Zoom School is an on-line elementary-school classroom. Subject links include geography, science activities, stories, history, crafts, animals, art, time information, and games, and relate to the theme - China.
Information on China, including maps, flags, crafts, printouts, etc.
You can learn about China’s flag, print it out, color it, and take a short quiz.
Flag of China: Color the flag of China.
You can print out a map of China, color it, and take a short quiz.
China - Follow the Instructions: A printout about China and maps for young readers.
A printable map of China.
Second-Third Grade Introduction to Research on the Internet - China Quiz
Read about this incredible structure.
Art Coloring Pages: Chinese Artists - Printouts and Online Coloring Pages.
A sampling of inventors and their inventions from China and Taiwan
Learn about the phases of the moon. The Chinese calendar is based in part on these lunar phases.
Use the list of Chinese Zodiac animal spelling words to answer simple questions.
‘Draw Four Chinese New Year Items’ in this printable worksheet about drawing and writing, for early readers.
Use the list of Chinese New Year spelling words to answer simple questions.
Find the missing letters in Chinese Zodiac animal words, and then color the picture of the word.
Unscramble the Chinese zodiac animal words, and then color the pictures of the words.
Chinese New Year Words Wordsearch. Find all the words in the wordsearch puzzle, then use the extra letters to read a secret message: “Happy Chinese New Year to you”. This printout is for young students.
Chinese Zodiac Animals Venn diagram: A printout on classifying Chinese Zodiac Animals using a Venn diagram.
Use the alphabet code to figure out the Chinese New Year message - “Chinese New Year starts on a new moon and lasts to the full moon.”
30-Blank Chinese New Year Word Hunt Worksheet: Printout. Make as many words as you can from the phrase Chinese New Year. Worksheet with 30 blanks.
Match two syllables to make ten Chinese New Year words in this printable worksheet.
10 Chinese New Year Words Alphabetical Order Worksheet Printout. Words: Chinese, dragon, envelope, lantern, moon, new, phases, red, year, zodiac
See if you can think of and write down a word related to Chinese New Year for each letter of the alphabet.
Learn about Chinese New Year with this vocabulary word list.
Animals for Chinese New Year
Pandas are black and white bears from China.
Labeled worksheet about pandas.
Unlabeled worksheet about pandas.
A short, printable book about the giant panda. The book has pages for the student to cut out, read, and color. The pages are: Intro, Anatomy, Habitat, Diet, Teeth, Fur and Paws, Eyes, Reproduction, and Classification.
2021 was the year of the ox. This link shows the musk ox; these are large, hairy oxen that live in the far north.
The silkworm moth is an insect (not a worm) that produces a silken cocoon. This cocoon is harvested to make silk thread.
2022 was the year of the tiger. This link shows a Siberian tiger (also called the Amur tiger), which is the largest tiger
Horses are hooved mammals. 2026 will be the year of the horse.
Goats are sure-footed hoofed mammals. 2015 was the year of the goat.
2023 was the year of the rabbit. A fast-moving mammal with long ears. Unlabeled picture to color plus information
A fast-moving mammal with long ears. Labeled picture to color plus information.
A rooster is an adult, male chicken. 2017 was the year of the rooster.
A printout about roosters.
Monkeys are intelligent, agile mammals.
Snakes are reptiles that have a long, narrow body and no legs. 2025 is the year of the snake.
Chinese Numbers
English and Chinese numbers - the numbers from 1 to 10 in Chinese and English
Write the Chinese numbers from 1 to 10.
See if you can match the Chinese numbers to Western numbers.
A short, printable activity book on the Chinese numbers from 1 to 12.