Fill in the Blanks
Were you born in the year of the Dog, the Monkey or maybe the Rooster? Read on to find out more about Lunar New Year and how it is celebrated in some places in Asia.
The
lunar
calendar
is
based
the
cycles
of
the
moon
,
so
the
date
of
Lunar
New
Year
different
each
year
.
However
,
it
usually
January
or
February
.
As
well
as
being
celebrated
China
,
Lunar
New
Year
is
also
important
festival
in
many
other
places
,
including
Vietnam
,
Singapore
and
Korea
.
Each
year
named
one
of
12
animals
.
A
traditional
story
explains
how
this
came
to
be
.
One
day
,
the
Emperor
decided
to
have
a
race
for
all
the
animals
the
country
.
Unfortunately
,
only
12
animals
actually
managed
to
get
to
the
race
.
The
Emperor
rewarded
them
by
naming
the
12
years
of
the
lunar
calendar
after
them
.
The
first
to
finish
was
the
rat
,
so
the
first
year
is
named
after
him
.
The
other
eleven
,
in
order
,
were
the
ox
,
tiger
,
rabbit
,
dragon
,
snake
,
horse
,
goat
,
monkey
,
rooster
,
dog
and
pig
.
A
family
celebration
Different
places
celebrate
in
slightly
different
ways
,
but
Lunar
New
Year
very
much
family
celebration
wherever
it
takes
place
.
The
younger
generation
greet
their
parents
and
grandparents
good
wishes
for
the
year
ahead
and
show
their
respect
for
the
older
generation
.
Korea
this
is
called
sebae
.
The
young
people
kneel
on
the
ground
and
bow
deeply
.
Older
members
the
family
give
younger
ones
cash
presents
,
traditionally
in
small
packets
.
Red
packets
used
China
and
Vietnam
,
as
red
is
lucky
colour
.
Nowadays
,
people
send
money
electronically
too
.
It
is
lucky
to
send
money
in
certain
amounts
,
for
example
using
the
number
eight
,
which
Chinese
sounds
the
word
?
prosper
?
.
Traditional
food
Traditional
foods
which
are
eaten
at
Lunar
New
Year
often
have
another
meaning
.
example
,
China
,
many
people
fish
dishes
because
the
Chinese
word
for
?
fish
?
sounds
similar
?
surplus
?
,
meaning
you
will
have
plenty
.
In
Korea
,
people
serve
special
soup
.
Thin
pieces
of
rice
cake
are
boiled
in
a
clear
soup
with
slices
beef
and
vegetables
.
The
rice
cake
pieces
are
round
and
may
represent
coins
and
money
.
It
said
that
eating
this
soup
at
New
Year
makes
you
one
year
older
.
People
joke
that
if
you
have
two
bowls
of
soup
,
you
?
ll
be
two
years
older
!
A
traditional
Vietnamese
food
square
rice
cake
,
wrapped
leaves
.
It
?
s
stuffed
with
pork
and
vegetables
and
takes
hours
to
prepare
,
so
many
people
buy
the
cake
instead
of
making
it
.
Other
traditions
There
many
other
Lunar
New
Year
traditions
.
example
,
Vietnam
,
believe
that
the
first
person
to
enter
their
home
in
the
New
Year
decide
their
fortune
for
the
year
ahead
.
They
are
careful
to
invite
someone
who
is
kind
,
well
behaved
and
successful
.
Korea
,
families
often
play
traditional
board
together
,
such
as
yunnori
.
In
this
game
,
teams
take
it
in
turn
to
throw
four
specially
shaped
sticks
into
air
.
They
move
around
the
board
depending
on
how
the
sticks
fall
.
China
,
many
people
have
firecrackers
,
which
burn
and
make
a
loud
bang
.
They
watch
street
performances
,
acrobatic
dancers
dress
up
as
a
lion
or
a
dragon
.
They
dance
,
accompanied
by
music
drums
.
celebrate
Lunar
New
Year
in
many
different
ways
,
but
all
the
celebrations
about
wishing
everyone
the
very
best
for
the
year
ahead
.
What
you
wish
for
next
year
?
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