Chinese New Year celebrations mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring and conclude with the Lantern Festival. 2023 will begin a year of the Rabbit.
- January 21, 2023: Chinese New Year's Eve
- January 22, 2023: Chinese New Year's Day
- February 5, 2023: The Lantern Festival
If your family is not familiar with Chinese New Year, watch this video to learn more about its history and traditions from PBS.
Join author Virginia Loh-Hagan as she reads aloud from her book PoPo's Lucky Chinese New Year, a story about the traditional customs of the month-long celebration of Chinese New Year.
Talk!
After listening to the story, talk about some of the things that happened in it.
- Who is PoPo?
- Where did PoPo travel from to come celebrate Chinese New Year?
- What does PoPo say happens if you wash your hair on New Year's Day?
- Would you eat your noodles broken, or whole?
- What two colors did Po Po use in the directions they made?
Read!
Enjoy four more video read alouds featuring stories by Grace Lin, Demi, Ji-li Jiang, and Virginia Loh-Hagan. You can also listen to stories read aloud in Mandarin here.
Find more FREE online reading at 100+ Free Video Read Alouds or try storytime at home!
Use your indyPL Library Card to check out books about Chinese New Year at any of our locations, or check out e-books and e-audiobooks from home right to your device. If you have never used OverDrive before, you can learn how to use it for both e-books and audiobooks.
Need help? Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text, or email Ask-a-Librarian. The Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.
Sing!
Tasty dishes, good luck wishes, Happy Lunar New Year! Join Sesame Street at the Lunar New Year parade and sing along to this exciting Happy Lunar New Year song!
Write!
Find some crayons or makers to color a Chinese New Year picture, practice writing the letters, or see if you can follow your way through a maze without getting stuck.
- Trace the words in both English and Chinese that mean good wishes for the New Year.
- Draw a Chinese Dragon with Letters with Grace Lin
- Grace Lin teaches how to draw a lucky Chinese tiger
- Grace Lin shows how to draw an Ox for Lunar New Year
- Grace Lin teaches how to draw a Chinese dragon
Play!
Here are some craft and pretend play ideas to enjoy during your Chinese New Year celebration.
- Make a Chinese New Year Banner with Grace Lin
- Make a Firecracker Decoration with Grace Lin
- Dragon Puppet Directions and Printable
- Chinese New Year Lanterns Printable
- Chinese New Year Dragon Printable
Chinese Lunar New Year
Celebrate Chinese New Year and learn about Chinese culture! Stories about the Zodiac animals, family traditions and the foods that surround the holiday. Find more reading ideas for kids about Chinese New Year here.
Long-Long's New Year
A Story About the Chinese Spring Festival
Lovely art and a look at what Spring Festival is still like in Rural areas of China.
Goldy Luck and the Three Pandas
Goldy is sent to deliver New Year treats next door, but when the neighbors aren't home she takes her chance to try all their stuff. A delightful retelling of the Goldilocks story.
Ruby's Chinese New Year
Ruby needs help delivering a special card to her grandma. Along the way she meet the 12 zodiac animals who help her in different ways.