The Chinese New Year of 2020 falls on January
25th and the festival will last to February 8th. 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://holidappy.com/holidays/Printable-Coloring-Pages-for-Year-of-the-Rat-Kid-Crafts-for-Chinese-New-Year
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:
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:
STORIES
The Cat and the Old Rat – Aesop
http://whisperingbooks.com/Show_Page/?book=Aesops_Fables&story=Cat_And_Old_Rat
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
https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0170a.html#kingscote
The Pied Piper of Hamelin - Germany
You will find another version here:
https://ofpanthers.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/The-Pied- Piper-of-Hamelin.pdf
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
https://archive.org/details/piedpiperofhamel00brownyctest2
Rat Hall – Scotland
https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/sfft/sfft83.htm
https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/sfft/sfft83.htm
The Rat Princess - Japan
The Rats and Their Daughter - Japan
The Rat’s Wedding – Northern India
https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0170a.html#steel
https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0170a.html#steel
The Story of a Monkey – Philippines
https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0170a.html#cole
https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0170a.html#cole
The Story of the Rat and Her Journey
to God – Romania
Why the Rat Kills Cats – Nigeria
https://www.worldoftales.com/African_folktales/Nigerian_folktale_18.html
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
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
CRAFTS AND ACTIVITIES
Education.com – Make a Chinese Zodiac
Mask: Year of the Rat
Enchanted Learning – Crafts and
Activities for the Chinese New Year
First Palette – Chinese Paper Lanterns
Make an Origami Rat
Printable Coloring Pages: Year of the
Rat
FOOD
Food Network – Chinese New Year Recipes
SOMETHING EXTRA
Chinese New Year Taboos
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
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