China
Fun Facts About China
Ice cream was invented in China around 2000BC
when the Chinese packed a soft milk and rice mixture in the snow.
China is the fourth largest country in the world. China is sometimes a day ahead of the United States.
The Chinese year is based on the cycles of the moon. This is called a lunar schedule. A complete cycle of the Chinese calendar takes 60 years. The Chinese calendar dates back to 2600 B.C. It is the oldest known calendar.
Each year is represented by an animal. There are twelve animals which represent the twelve months.
According to readings Buddha named the years after the twelve animals that came to visit him before he left the earth. The Chinese believe that you have some of the characteristics of the animal representing the year in which you were born.
1900
1912
1924
1936
1948
1960
1972
1984
1996
2008
1901
1913
1925
1937
1949
1961
1973
1985
1997
2009
1902
1914
1926
1938
1950
1962
1974
1986
1998
2010
1903
1915
1927
1939
1951
1963
1975
1987
1999
2011
1904
1916
1928
1940
1952
1964
1976
1988
2000
2012
1905
1917
1929
1941
1953
1965
1977
1989
2001
2013
1906
1918
1930
1942
1954
1966
1978
1990
2002
2014
1907
1919
1931
1943
1955
1967
1979
1991
2003
2015
1908
1920
1932
1944
1956
1968
1980
1992
2004
2016
1909
1921
1933
1945
1957
1969
1981
1993
2005
2017
1910
1922
1934
1946
1958
1970
1982
1994
2006
2018
1911
1923
1935
1947
1959
1971
1983
1995
2007
2019
When a Chinese child loses a baby tooth, it doesn't get tucked under the pillow for the tooth fairy. If the child loses an upper tooth, the child's parents plant the tooth in the ground, so the new tooth will grow in straight and healthy. Parents toss a lost bottom tooth up to the rooftops, so that the new tooth will grow upwards , too.
It is considered good luck for the gate to a house to face south.
We know that the Chinese grew rice as long as 5000 BC Archaeologists have found rice grains in farming tools and pots from that period.
Long ago, silk making was a closely guarded secret. Anyone who gave the secret away could be killed.
At one time, Chinese patriots hoped to rid themselves of hated foreign conquerors. To announce the time of an uprising, the patriots hid messages in moon cakes.
Red is considered a lucky color in China. At one time wedding dresses were red. New Year's banners, clothing, and lucky money envelopes are still red.
Fourth graders are expected to know 2,000 of the over 40,000 written Chinese characters. By the time they leave college, they will know 4,000 or 5,000 characters. Each character is learned by looking at it and memorizing it.
Unlike the 26 letters of our alphabet, words cannot be sounded out letter by letter.