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Chinese New Year Lantern Activity
According to an ancient Chinese legend, a monster named Nian (which means year) would attack a village and eat people at the beginning of the year. Each year, the villagers fled until they learned it could be frightened away by loud noises, bright lights and red lanterns. Today, Chinese New Year is celebrated with firecrackers, fireworks and red lanterns.
5 Ways To Celebrate Lunar New Year in The Classroom
The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival, is the most important festival in China. It takes place on the first new moon between January 21st and February 20th. In 2025, the Year of the Snake will begin on January 29. Here are a few ideas for celebrating Lunar New Year in the Classroom.
Ma’at - Egyptian Goddess of Truth, Justice and Balance
Maat was the daughter of Ra and the wife of Thoth. She weighed the heart of those who died against her feather to decide who would travel to the afterlife. She is depicted as a woman with an ostrich feather on her head, sometimes winged. Sometimes she was pictured as an ostrich feather.
The Year of the Snake
The Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival, occurs on the first new moon between January 21st and February 20th. In 2025, Chinese New Year will be celebrated on January 29.
The Great Race
One of the main legends about how the years got their names is the story of the Great Race. According to the tale, the ruler of the heavens, called the Jade Emperor, celebrated his birthday with a race. He invited all the animals in the world to take part. The first twelve animals to finish would have a year named after them.
Ancient Greek Mythological Beasts
Ancient Greek stories and mythological beasts were so compelling that they were adopted by other cultures and are well-known, even today. These fantastical creatures and monsters of the Greeks had their parts to play in poems, theatre and art. They could be good or evil. Some were enemies for heroes to vanquish, some provided wisdom and help to deserving mortals and demigods, and some enforced the will of the gods.
Faun: The Wood Spirits
A farmer named Marcus struggled with his barren land and asked for help from Faunus. A faun led him to a magical spring, promising fertility in exchange for respect and sharing his harvest with the villagers. Marcus's crops flourished, but he hoarded his bounty and dammed the spring.
Angered by his actions, the faun returned, destroying the dam and taking away the magical water. Realizing his mistake, Marcus begged for forgiveness. The faun forgave him, reminding him to share and respect nature, and gave him a small fertile patch of land. From then on, Marcus lived humbly, sharing with the village.
Siren: The Bird-Women
Odysseus was warned about sirens and ordered his crew to plug their ears with wax. But Odysseus was curious about their legendary voices, so he had himself tied to the bow of his ship and instructed his men not to release him, no matter how much he begged.
He told his men that even if he begged to be released, they should only tie him tighter. Sure enough, when he heard the song of sirens, Odysseus begged to be released, but his crew refused to release him until they were out of danger.
After Odysseus escaped unharmed, the sirens, devastated by their failure, threw themselves into the sea, marking the end of their terror.
Minotaur: The Bull of Minos
The Minotaur was the son of Minos, the king of Crete, but he had a bad habit of eating people, so he was kept captive in a labyrinth under the city. Seven maidens and seven young men were chosen from Athens every year to feed the beast. One year, the son of the Athenian king, a young man named Theseus, volunteered as tribute. He boasted that he would kill the Minotaur. With the help of Ariadne, the Minotaur's sister, Theseus smuggled a sword into the labyrinth. He unraveled a ball of string as he made his way through the maze until he found the Minotaur. The Minotaur was sleeping, so Theseus slew him easily. He found his way back out of the labyrinth using the trail of string he left behind.
Medusa: The Hideous Gorgon
Perseus, a son of Zeus and a mortal woman, was given a quest to kill Medusa. He used gifts from the gods, a cap of invisibility and winged sandals, to sneak into Medusa’s cave. He heard the Gorgon sleeping, but Perseus knew that he would be turned to stone if he looked at her hideous face. Fortunately for him (not so much for Medusa), Athena appeared and gave him a bronze shield. Perseus used the reflection from the shield so he could see Medusa, and then he cut off her head. Medusa’s children, Pegasus and Chrysaor were born from her neck. Perseus escaped the Gorgon sisters with his cap of invisibility and winged sandals. Medusa’s story doesn’t end there though. Perseus used Medusa’s severed head to turn his enemies to stone before giving the head to Athena.
Hydra: The Water Snake
Heracles was tasked with killing the hydra. For this feat, he brought along his nephew, Iolaus. Cleverly, they covered their noses mouths to protect themselves from the deadly fumes of the beast. Heracles cut off one of the monster's heads, but then two head grew back and took its place. He cut off two more heads, and four more grew back. Iolaus figured out he could use a burning torch to seal the neck stumps when Heracles cut off one of the heads so they couldn’t grow back. Heracles put an end to the hydra when he cut off its main head and buried it under a large rock.
Harpies: The Hounds of Zeus
There was once a king named Phineus who had the gift of prophecy. However, he angered Zeus by revealing the gods' secrets to mortals. As punishment, Zeus blinded Phineus and exiled him to an island. Though the island had plenty of food and wine, whenever Phineus tried to eat, harpies would swoop in and steal his meal. Sometimes, they even replaced his food with something disgusting, mocking him with screeches as he attempted to eat. Eventually, the winged Boreads chased the harpies away, but they stopped after the goddess Iris warned them to leave the harpies alone or face the gods' wrath.