New Year Scavenger Hunt
***ANSWERS***
Using the websites that follow, answer the following questions about
celebrating the New Year holiday.
Website #1: Understanding the Chinese New Year
http://www.new-year.co.uk/chinese/index1.htm
- When is the Chinese New Year celebrated? (January 28)
- How long does the celebration last? (15 days)
- What happens on midnight of the eve of Chinese New Year? (fireworks)
- How does the Chinese New Year end? (Festival of Lanterns; celebration with singing)
- Click on virtual fortune cookie. What is your fortune?
Website #2: New Year's History and Customs
http://wilstar.com/holidays/newyear.htm
- The Babylonians did not celebrate New Year's on January 1. When was it?
(March 23)
- In order to first start the New Year at January 1, how long did Caeser have to
let the preceding year run? (445 days)
- What was the early Babylonian's most popular New Year's resolution?
(to return borrowed farm equipment)
- When did the tradition of using a baby to signify the new year begin? (in Greece around 600 BC)
Website #3: First Night
http://www.firstnightintl.org/
- What is First Night? (a community celebration of the New Year with art, ritual, and festivity)
- Where was First Night founded? (in Boston in 1976)
- Is First Night celebrated with alcoholic substances? (no)
Website #4: Rosh Hashanah
http://www.joi.org/celebrate/rosh/
- Why is an apple eaten on the Jewish New Year? (as the token of a wish for a sweet year)
- How is fish symbolic to the Jewish New Year? (represents fertility, prosperity, and knowledge)
- Before Rosh Hashanah is celebrated, what is done for repentence? (Teshuvah)
- What is a shofar? (animal horn blown like a trumpet)
- Are shellfish considered to be kosher? (No)
Website #5: Heather's Holidays Page
http://www.heathersholidaze.com/index.html
- Find the New Year's coloring page and print.
Have a great new year!