Lunar New Year (17th February 2026) is a vibrant celebration observed across many Asian cultures, symbolizing renewal, family, and hope for the year ahead. In early childhood settings, it offers a rich opportunity to honor cultural diversity, foster inclusion, and spark joy through sensory experiences, storytelling, and creative play. By tailoring activities to babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, educators can create meaningful, age-appropriate engagements that respect traditions while nurturing curiosity and belonging.

The Lunar New Year Information Posters provides information on Lunar New Year celebrations. These are great to use as a display or as a discussion point with children.

Lunar New Year is a festival typically celebrated in China and other Asian countries that begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar. On New Year’s day, family members receive red envelopes (lai see) containing small amounts of money. The origins of the Lunar New Year festival are thousands of years old and are steeped in legends. One legend is that of Nian, a hideous beast believed to feast on human flesh on New Year’s day. Because Nian feared the colour red, loud noises, and fire, red paper decorations were pasted to doors, lanterns were burned all night, and firecrackers were lit to frighten the beast away.

The Chinese Number Tracing set enables children to trace numbers 1 to 10 in Mandarin. This is great for children to learn numbers in mandarin by tracing over each character. This activity is great for Lunar New Year celebrations and for those learning about Chinese culture. 

These Red Envelope Money Counting Set 1 to 10 enable children to count the coins on the red envelope and select the corresponding matching number. This can be done by using a peg to clip onto the correct number, blocks, playdough etc.

This activity can be used as part of Lunar New Year Celebrations or when learning about Chinese culture and traditions. During Chinese New Year, money is put inside red envelopes which are then handed out to younger generations by their parents, grandparents, relatives, and even close neighbors and friends. Red symbolizes luck and good fortune in Chinese culture. That is why red envelopes are used during Chinese New Year and other celebratory events.