The Lunar New Year is celebrated by many diverse communities around the world as a key moment for new beginnings, reflection and goal-setting. It’s an important time where families come together to celebrate, share their blessings and plan their goals for the year ahead. With lots of interesting traditions surrounding the celebration, we’ve picked out our top 3 Lunar New Year traditions for kids, so they can learn more about the celebration and maybe put some of the lessons into practice.
As much as the Lunar New Year is about wishing people good luck, many families also believe that their homes need a good tidy up to sweep away any bad luck. About a week before the Lunar New Year, you’ll find that there’s a lot of dusting, sweeping, and mopping to make sure houses are clean from top to bottom.
Once the cleaning is done, all brooms, dustpans and brushes are packed away tightly on New Year’s Eve, as families want to be ready for any good fortune coming their way. Houses are then decorated with paper scrolls with good luck phrases such as ‘Happiness’ and ‘Wealth’ to bring in the new year.
If you need any excuse to get the kids cleaning, then this is the one. Have a think about how you can encourage your kids to lend a helping hand with the promise of some good fortune once the work is complete (a bit of pocket money should do the trick).
Lunar New Year is a time for reflection and goal-setting as families often talk about their hopes and aspirations for the upcoming year, as well as the positive changes they want to see in their lives. This tradition is a great opportunity to help kids start thinking about their money goals for the year ahead. Encourage your kids to think about their own wants and needs for the year, then talk about the importance of setting a clear goal with money to help them get there.
For example, they could set their own savings goal for the year to help them buy a special item. Keeping it fun and giving them a clear goal to aim for will help them to stay on track and make smarter saving decisions along the way. Read our handy guide on savings goals to help you kick start the convos with your kids, or try this goal setting exercise for a step by step guide on how to set them up.
The envelopes are coloured red as it symbolises energy, happiness, and good luck. The amount inside is usually an even number, but never anything with the number 4 – in Chinese, the number 4 sounds very similar to the word for death.
The red envelopes are not just there for celebration. They’re also symbolic investments into the recipient’s future. This tradition is a good opportunity to explain to your kids the importance of saving some of the money they get from relatives. Through this tradition, kids can start to understand that saving money today can help them build a better fortune tomorrow, aligning with the spirit of the Lunar New Year.
Well there we have it, from the symbolic red envelopes to the tradition of goal-setting, there are plenty of money related lessons that can be taken from the Lunar New Year for kids. Have a think about the lessons that you can extend beyond the festive season, so that your kids can top up their money related skills throughout the rest of the year. Wishing you all a happy and healthy Lunar New Year.