2015 - Lunar Chinese Year of The Ram 4713 - Teach Your Child How To Be Open-Minded

新年快樂，恭喜發財，身體健康

Wishing you a Happy New Year 

Best, Urszula, Basia and Peter 

The Chinese year 4713 began on Feb. 19, 2015. It’s a year of The Ram/Sheep

Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. 

People born in sheep years are artistic, charming, sensitive, and sweet. 

Ram is known as the most creative sign in the Chinese zodiac.

Chinese months are calculated by the lunar calendar, with each month beginning on the darkest day. New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest.

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese calendar. In China, the New Year is a time of family reunion. Families gather at homes for visits and share meals, most significantly a feast on New Year's Eve. 

People wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck. Long ago, people in China lit bamboo stalks, believing that the crackling flames would frighten evil spirits.

"Me and my dragon friend" by BP

The lantern festival is held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. People hang glowing lanterns in temples, and carry lanterns to an evening parade under the light of the full moon. In many areas the highlight of the lantern festival is the dragon dance. The dragon is typically made of silk, paper, and bamboo. Traditionally the dragon is held aloft by young men who dance as they guide the colorful beast through the streets.