When the New Year’s Day has passed, Spring Festival is just around the corner. It is the most significant festival for the Chinese people. During the festival, people will be busy with new year shopping, visiting the flower markets, setting off firecrackers, posting new year’s paintings and having many other celebration activities.
In Year 4 Chinese Studies Class, the students devoted themselves to the topic study of New Year’s Paintings under the teacher’s instruction. By watching the video, they got to know both new year’s paintings and spring festival couplets are originated from the Door-god who can protect the household from evil. Through appreciating the variety of new year’s paintings, the students gained the general idea of most common mascots appearing in new year’s paintings including chubby child, carp, lotus, plum, magpie, jade Ruyi, flat peach, etc. From studying the topic, they understood that lotus and carp symbolized a harvest year; Prune trees and magpies represent overwhelming happiness; Jade Ruyi stands for a peaceful coming year and flat peach for health and a long life.
Moreover, students took an active part in drawing the new year’s paintings themselves. After carefully selecting the patterns, they concentrated on coloring, cutting, and decorating with braids until the beautiful paintings came into view.
Y4E Co-teacher—Alicia WANG