{Celebrate China} Our New Year Decor

I always enjoy getting inspiration from other bloggers, so I thought I'd share a bit of our Chinese New Year decorations, aside from our Fu Tree.  Our decorations aren't extravagant or plentiful, and are still in the growing stage, but I think it's fun to get festive!  I added a little this year, and will add a little each year in the future too.  And yes, I know that typically the couplets go on the outside of your home, but it's too cold and wet to leave them out there.  So I put them up in the kitchen instead.

If you blogged about your Spring Festival decorations, please share a link in the comments so I can be inspired by YOU!

{Celebrate China} Our Fu Tree

I love the idea of combining our American traditions with Sunshine's Chinese heritage.  There are some Spring Festival customs that we can't do here (like setting off firecrackers), so creating some of our own blended traditions seems like a great idea.  When I saw a Chinese New Year tree on another adoptive mama's blog, I thought it was such a creative idea.  I am hoping to add to our ornaments while I'm in China, and eventually hope to decorate our big tree after the Christmas ornaments come down.  For now, I started with our small tree.  "Fu Tree" comes from the Chinese word "fu," which means good fortune.  It's also part of the city's name where Sunshine was born.

{Celebrate China} Our New Year Library

With Chinese New Year (or Spring Festival) just around the corner, it seemed like a good time to post about our favorite books celebrating the holiday!  There are so many terrific books available!  Our library is still a little small and certainly in the "growing" stage, but here is a list of what we like to read during Spring Festival, along with explanations taken from Amazon:

A New Year's Reunion - "Little Maomao's father works in faraway places and comes home just once a year, for Chinese New Year. At first Maomao barely recognizes him, but before long the family is happily making sticky rice balls, listening to firecrackers, and watching the dragon dance in the streets below. Papa gets a haircut, makes repairs to the house, and hides a lucky coin for Maomao to find. Which she does! But all too soon it is time for Papa to go away again. This poignant, vibrantly illustrated tale, which won the prestigious Feng Zikai Chinese Children's Picture Book Award in 2009, is sure to resonate with every child who misses relatives when they are away--and shows how a family's love is strong enough to endure over time and distance."

The Beast Nian (iTunes e-book) - iTunes doesn't provide a good summary of this story, so I'll share my thoughts!  Although this is an e-book, I love that it tells the legend of Nian.  I haven't found many books that explain this story, and it's part of some of the traditions behind Spring Festival.  The illustrations are bright and colorful and the story tells the legend well.  Very young children might not do well with the beginning knowing that Nian is a monster who would sometimes hurt the villagers, but I think it's probably fine for most children. For $0.99, it's a bargain and you can listen to a narration in English or Chinese!

Bringing In The New Year - "This exuberant story follows a Chinese American family as they prepare for the Lunar New Year. Each member of the family lends a hand as they sweep out the dust of the old year, hang decorations, and make dumplings. Then it’s time to put on new clothes and celebrate with family and friends. There will be fireworks and lion dancers, shining lanterns, and a great, long dragon parade to help bring in the Lunar New Year. And the dragon parade in our book is extra long–on a surprise fold-out page at the end of the story. Grace Lin’s artwork is a bright and gloriously patterned celebration in itself! And her story is tailor-made for reading aloud."

Celebrate Chinese New Year - "Children have never had so many reasons to learn how Chinese people everywhere ring in the new and ring out the old. Celebrate Chinese New Year is the latest, timely addition to National Geographic’s popular Holidays Around the World series. With 25 colorful images and a simple, educational text, the book is a lively invitation to revel in this child-friendly, national and international holiday. Carolyn Otto brings the historical and cultural aspects of the Chinese New Year into focus, and young readers experience the full flavor of an event celebrated by over a billion people in China, and countless others worldwide."

The Dancing Dragon - "The Chinese New Year is about to begin. There's lots to do--tie strings of firecrackers outside, hang up red scrolls, bake special cakes, and sing New Year's songs. And when family and friends are gathered together, it's time for the parade to begin. This book folds out to reveal all the color and excitement of a traditional Chinese New Year celebration, complete with dancing dragon!"

Dragon Dance - "It's Chinese New Year and there are so many fun things to do! Shopping at the outdoor market for fresh flowers, eating New Year's dinner with the whole family, receiving red envelopes from Grandma and Grandpa, and best of all-watching the spectacular Chinese New Year's parade! Introduce the customs of Chinese New Year to even the youngest readers with this festive new lift-the-flap book."

The Great Race - "The Jade Emperor is concerned because his country does not have a calendar, and no one can tell one year from the next. He decides to hold a race across a great river, and the order in which the animals finish will determine the order of the years. The event is exciting as the creatures maneuver for position, only to be bested in the end by the clever Rat. In this retelling of the ancient legend, Casey maintains the pace well. Back matter includes information about the Chinese calendar in general, as well as the more specific Dragon Boat Festival and Moon Festival. The book is a visual treat, with illustrations in simple collage designs on acrylic and painted backgrounds placed in such a way as to keep the eye engaged and moving."

Sam And The Lucky Money - "It's Chinese New Year in Chinatown, and young Sam has four dollars of New Year money burning a hole in his pocket. As he and his mother are milling through the crowded streets--alive with firecrackers, lion dances, and shoppers--Sam accidentally steps on the foot of a homeless man who is buried in a pile of red paper. Flustered, Sam hurries back to his mother, and is soon distracted by the char siu bao and other sweets he might buy with his gift money. When he sees fish-tail cookies that remind him of toes, he remembers the old man again, and Sam starts to think of his "lucky money" in a new light."

The Year Of The Horse (new for us this year) - 2014 is The Year of the Horse! Hannah the horse has a wonderfully talented family and a very special friendship with a boy named Tom, but she wants more than that. She yearns to have special skills like those of her parents and relatives. When Tom offers to take his art teacher s newest painting to the governor in a far off capital, Hannah jumps at the chance to show a little horse can have a lot of courage.

This latest adventure in the Tales from the Chinese Zodiac follows The Year of the Snake (2013), Dragon (2012), Rabbit (2011), Tiger (2010), Ox (2009), Rat (2008), Pig (2007) and Dog (2006). Each book features a unique cast of a dozen creatures. In the Chinese lunar calendar, a special animal represents every year. Each creature symbolizes unique qualities and has a personality that people identify with.

{Celebrate China} Chinese Traditions

If you are an international adoptive mama like me, chances are that you didn't inherently know everything about your child's birth culture.  Unless you spent years living in their birth country, it takes a lot of research and learning to feel like you might really have a sense of the people, the traditions, and the holidays.  It's important for us adoptive parents to know everything we can about where our children came from to celebrate their birth heritage, and also to help them make sense of who they are.  Aside from other adoptive parents, our Chinese friends, and the ever-present interweb, there are a couple books that have been extremely wonderful resources for me in learning about Chinese culture.  I want to share them with you.

Good Luck Life, The Essential Guide To Chinese American Celebrations and Culture by Rosemary Gong is simply fantastic.  From the book: "Good Luck Life is the first book to explain the meanings of Chinese rituals and to offer advice on when and how to plan for Chinese holidays and special occasions such as Chinese weddings, the Red Egg and Ginger party to welcome a new baby, significant birthdays, and the inevitable funeral. Packed with practical information, Good Luck Life contains an abundance of facts, legends, foods, old-village recipes, and quick planning guides for Chinese New Year, Clear Brightness, Dragon Boat, Mid-Autumn, and many other festivals. Written with warmth and wit, Good Luck Life is beautifully designed as an easily accessible cultural guide that includes an explanation of the Lunar Calendar, tips on Chinese table etiquette for dining with confidence, and dos and don'ts from wise Auntie Lao, who recounts ancient Chinese beliefs and superstitions. This is your map for celebrating a good luck life."

From the Table of Contents, it covers: Chinese New Year, Qing Ming - Clear Brightness Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Double Seventh Day (like the American Valentine's Day), Hungry Ghosts Festival, Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, Chong Yang - Double Ninth Day, Weddings, Red Egg and Ginger Party to Celebrate New Babies, Big Birthdays, Funerals, Table Etiquette and Other Delicacies.  It is a quick enough read (or could also be read as needed) and explains all of the main Chinese holidays (some that I didn't even know existed).  It shares practical ways to celebrate the holidays here in the U.S. and gives the stories and explanations about how and why the holidays came to be.  In my opinion, Good Luck Life is a must-have resource for all adoptive parents with children from China.

Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats, A Treasure Of Chinese Holiday Tales, Activities & Recipes by Nina Simonds, Leslie Swartz, and The Children's Museum of Boston is another awesome resource for adoptive families. From the book: "Filled with delectable recipes, hands-on family activities, and traditional tales to read aloud, this extraordinary collection will inspire families everywhere to re-create the magic of Chinese holidays in their own homes. They can feast on golden New Year's dumplings and tasty moon cakes, build a miniature boat for the Dragon Boat Festival and a kite at Qing Ming, or share the story of the greedy Kitchen God or the valiant warrior Hou Yi."

It's not quite as inclusive as Good Luck Life, but seems to be geared more toward celebrating with children.  It offers some great ideas for celebrations of Chinese New Year, Qing Ming, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.  The story of each holiday is shared, as well as several traditional recipes and activities.  The stories are shared in a way that they could easily be read aloud to children, and there are even a few simple illustrations.  As a homeschooling mama, I especially like the hands-on craft ideas for each holiday.

Although I think both of these books compliment each other very well, go with Good Luck Life If you only want to make one purchase.  I prefer having both, but there are enough internet ideas out there for holiday crafts.  You could probably make up for not having Moonbeams, Dumplings & Dragon Boats with some extra pinterest research.