Chinese New Year 2020: The Year of the Rat

The Chinese New Year of 2020 falls on January 25th and the festival will last to February 8^th. According to the Chinese zodiac 2020 is a Year of the Rat.

• The rat is the 1st animal in the Chinese Zodiac, an every 12th Chinese new year heralds the start of another year named for this clever animal.
• It has characteristics of an animal with spirit, wit, alertness, delicacy, flexibility and vitality. In Chinese culture, rats were seen as a sign of wealth and surplus. Because of their reproduction rate, married couples also prayed to them for children
• People born in the year of the rat are thought to be generous witty, alert, and flexible. On the other hand, they are also thought to be a bit stubborn and picky.
• The recommended occupations for rats are artist, author, teacher and doctor.

The above information is shared from the following websites:

https://secretserendipity.com/the-year-of-the-rat-2020-chineseastrology
https://holidappy.com/holidays/Printable-Coloring-Pages-for-Year-of-the-Rat-Kid-Crafts-for-Chinese-New-Year

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/zodiac/rat/jobs.htm

A well-known legend or origin of the Chinese Zodiac tells the tale of the Jade Emperor who invited the entire animal kingdom to take part in a race. The first 12 animals to cross the river would be assigned a year of the Chinese Zodiac system.

All of the animals were very excited and the news spread quickly. On the day of the race all of the animals gathered at the river and rat won the race. You see, although he was the smallest animal he used his bran and played a little trick! To read the rest of the story click the link below:

https://www.hutong-school.com/origin-chinese-zodiac-why-cats-and-rats-are-sworn-enemies

STORIES

The Cat and the Old Rat – Aesop
http://whisperingbooks.com/Show_Page/?book=Aesops_Fables&story=Cat_And_Old_Rat

The Monkey with the Tom –Tom – Southern India
https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0170a.html#kingscote

The Pied Piper of Hamelin - Germany

https://shortstoriesshort.com/story/pied-piper-of-hamelin/ 

You will find another version here:  
https://ofpanthers.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/The-Pied-   Piper-of-Hamelin.pdf

And the poem written by Robert Browning with gorgeous illustrations here.
https://archive.org/details/piedpiperofhamel00brownyctest2

Rat Hall – Scotland
https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/sfft/sfft83.htm

The Rat Princess - Japan

https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/134/stories-from-around-the-world/5100/the-rat-princess/

The Rats and Their Daughter - Japan

https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type2031c.html#japan

The Rat’s Wedding – Northern India
https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0170a.html#steel 

The Story of a Monkey – Philippines
https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0170a.html#cole

The Story of the Rat and Her Journey to God – Romania

https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type2031c.html#romania

Why the Rat Kills Cats – Nigeria
https://www.worldoftales.com/African_folktales/Nigerian_folktale_18.html

Why the Woman and Rat Came to Stay in the Same House - Sudan
http://www.southsudanesefolktales.org/?project=how-the-woman-and-the-rat-came-to-stay-in-the-same-house

BOOKS

Gift of Curiosity – Books About the Chinese New Year for Kids

https://www.giftofcuriosity.com/books-about-chinese-new-year-for-kids/

CRAFTS AND ACTIVITIES

Education.com – Make a Chinese Zodiac Mask: Year of the Rat

https://www.education.com/worksheet/article/chinese-zodiac-mask-rat/

Enchanted Learning – Crafts and Activities for the Chinese New Year

https://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/chinesenewyear/

First Palette – Chinese Paper Lanterns

https://www.firstpalette.com/craft/paper-lantern.html

Make an Origami Rat

https://www.origami-resource-center.com/chinese-zodiac.html#rat

Printable Coloring Pages: Year of the Rat

https://holidappy.com/holidays/Printable-Coloring-Pages-for-Year-of-the-Rat-Kid-Crafts-for-Chinese-New-Year

FOOD

Food Network – Chinese New Year Recipes

https://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/chinese-new-year

SOMETHING EXTRA

Chinese New Year Taboos

https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/festivals/chinese-new-year-taboos.htm

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

Karen Chace 2019 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.