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February 2008 PowerKids
Welcome the year of the ‘RAT’
The Chinese New Year will begin Feb. 7! This is the year 4705 according to the Chinese calendar. It is the Year of the Rat.
Chinese New Year’s celebrations include visits to relatives and friends. New clothing, often red, is worn to signify the new year. On the days before the New Year celebration, Chinese families clean their homes thoroughly to sweep away the bad luck of the previous year and make their homes ready for good luck.
Red packets with money in them are given to children.
On the first day of the New Year, many Chinese people do not eat meat. They believe not eating meat will ensure that they will have a long life. Some believe that lighting fires on New Year’s Day is bad luck so all the food they eat is cooked the day before. Popular foods eaten during Chinese New Year’s celebrations include fish, dumplings, mandarin oranges, noodles and melon seeds.
To celebrate the Chinese New Year, enjoy your favorite Chinese meal with your family. Decorate the table with stuffed animals of the different Chinese zodiac animals, as well as these foam fortune cookie favors.
Recipe for Foam Fortune Cookies
 What you’ll need:
Plastic cup
Light brown foam sheet
Paper, cut into narrow strips
Tacky glue
Paper clip
Imagination
To make:
Using a plastic cup as a pattern, draw a circle (about 31⁄2 inch diameter) on a light brown foam sheet. Cut out the circle.
Now, cut a narrow strip of paper (about 3⁄8 inch by 41⁄2 inches). Write a fortune on it. It can be funny (“You will go the entire year without cleaning your room.”) or more traditional (“Expect good fortune in unexpected places.”)
Place the fortune in the center of the circle with ends peeking out on either side.
Now, squirt some Tacky Glue around the edges of the circle (keep away from where the fortune is) and fold the circle in half. Paper clip the glued areas together while the glue dries.
After the glue dries, squirt a small dot of glue in the middle of the straight side of the “cookie.” Fold the “cookie” in half there so it resembles … well … a fortune cookie.
You’ll need to use the paper clips again to hold the foam in place as it dries.
This fortune cookie looks so real, you’ll be tempted to eat it!
Are you a rat, an ox, a tiger …? What Chinese sign are you?
The Chinese zodiac has 12 animal symbols. Unlike the zodiac signs you might see in newspaper horoscopes, the Chinese zodiac covers 12 years, not 12 months. According to Chinese folklore, people born in a particular year take on the characteristics of the animal of that year.
For fun … what sign are you? Below, find the year you were born (if your birthday’s in January or February before the Chinese new year, go down to the previous year’s line).
Get your sign, and check out the traits. (If your year’s not here, the cycle repeats every 12 years; 1996 was a rat ….)
Year — Date of New Year — Animal sign
2008 — Feb. 7 — Rat
2007 — Feb. 18 — Boar
2006 — Jan. 29 — Dog
2005 — Feb. 9 — Rooster
2004 — Jan. 22 — Monkey
2003 — Feb. 1 — Goat
2002 — Feb. 12 — Horse
2001 — Jan. 24 — Snake
2000 — Feb. 5 — Dragon
1999 — Feb. 16 — Rabbit
1998 — Jan. 28 — Tiger
1997 — Feb. 7 — Ox
What the signs mean
Rat: Imaginative, charming and generous. May be quick-tempered and overly critical. Future careers: sales professional, writer, critic or publicist.
Boar: Sincere, tolerant, honest. Sets out difficult goals and carries them out. Expects too much from others. Your materialistic nature could be your downfall. Future careers: entertainer or lawyer.
Dog: Will never let others down. Honest and faithful. May worry constantly, have a sharp tongue and have a tendency to find fault. Future careers: businessperson, activist, teacher or secret agent.
Rooster: Hard worker, good at making decisions, dreamer, flashy dresser, and extravagant. Others may find you too boastful. Future careers: restaurant owner, publicist or soldier.
Monkey: Intelligent with a clever wit, magnetic personality, well-liked. May be an opportunist who distrusts others. Will be successful in any career you try.
Goat: Charming, elegant and artistic. First to complain about things, a worrier, dependent on material comforts. Future careers: actor or gardener.
Horse: Hard worker, independent, intelligent and friendly. May be egotistical. Future careers: scientist, poet or politician.
Snake: Wise, charming, intuitive, with a sense of humor about life. May be stingy with money and may frequently put things off. Future careers: teacher, writer or psychiatrist.
Dragon: Enthusiastic, energetic, intelligent, a perfectionist. Can be demanding and foolhardy. Future careers: artist, priest or politician.
Rabbit: Diplomatic and hate conflict. May be evasive and tell others what they want to hear, not what you really think. You don’t like being in the limelight. Future career: advice columnist.
Tiger: Sensitive and emotional. May tend to get carried away and be stubborn about what you think is right. Future careers: executive, race car driver or explorer.
Ox: Born leader, conservative, methodical, and good at crafts and building things. May demand to have things your own way. Future careers: surgeon, general or hairdresser.
Written By: eceditor
Date Posted: 1/29/2008
Number of Views: 378
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