Happy New Year!

Today marks Chinese New Year, the
longest and most important holiday in the Chinese calendar. The festival,
known as Seollal in South
Korea and Tet in Vietnam, is traditionally a time to
be with family, and is celebrated by roughly a sixth of the world! The evening
before Chinese New year’s Day is an opportunity for Chinese families to spend
time together for an annual reunion dinner. For our students at LSI/IH Portsmouth, being apart
from their family at this time of year can be a bit difficult! We asked a few of
our Chinese students how they will celebrate the New Year, when they are living
nearly 5000 miles away from home.

Hui told us she will be cooking up
a Chinese feast for her English host family, serving up traditional dishes such
as dumplings, soup and duck leg. She wanted to show her English host family
exactly how she would celebrate Chinese New Year if she was back home in
Wuhan, China. Another student, Fisher from
Beijing, said
her family would light fireworks and firecrackers to welcome New Year in with a
bang! Although neither student can be with their families, continuing their
traditions whilst in Portsmouth is a fantastic way to share their
culture and customs with their English host
families.

According to
Chinese astrology, each year is associated with a particular animal sign and
2015 is the year of the goat.  However, you may also see it referred to as the “Year of the
Sheep”. The confusion stems from the Chinese character “yang”, which
translates in colloquial Chinese as either goat or sheep! Those born in the year
of the goat are supposedly peace-loving and kind, and their lucky flowers are
carnations and primroses.