Vocabulary

Lantern 🏮
A decorative light, usually red, hung in streets and homes during Chinese New Year to bring good luck and happiness.

Tangerine 🍊
A small orange fruit that symbolises good fortune and wealth because of its golden colour.

Dumplings 🥟
Traditional food eaten during Chinese New Year celebrations, often shaped like ancient gold coins to represent prosperity.

Fortune cookie 🥠
A crispy cookie that contains a small piece of paper with a message or prediction inside.

Money envelope (red envelope) 🧧
A red envelope with money inside, given as a gift to wish good luck and success in the new year.

Fan 🎐
A traditional decorative object used for cooling or dancing, often symbolising elegance and good wishes.

Chopsticks 🥢
Two thin sticks used instead of a fork or spoon to eat food in many Asian cultures.

Chinese zodiac 🐉
A system of twelve animals that represent different years, with each year believed to influence personality and luck.

Firecrackers 🎆
Small explosive fireworks set off to celebrate and traditionally to scare away bad luck and evil spirits.

The Great Race is a traditional legend that explains the origin of the Chinese zodiac.

According to the story, the Jade Emperor wanted to choose twelve animals to represent the years. He announced a race: the first twelve animals to cross a wide river would each have a year named after them.

Here’s what happened in the legend:

• The Rat rode on the Ox’s back and jumped ahead at the last second, finishing first.

• The Ox came second because he helped the Rat.

• The Tiger, Rabbit, and Dragon arrived next.

• The Snake surprised the Horse and finished before it.

• The Goat, Monkey, and Rooster worked together to cross the river.

• The Dog arrived after stopping to play in the water.

• The Pig came last because he stopped to eat and rest.

That is why the twelve animals appear in this order in the zodiac cycle.