Chinese New Year

This site is aimed to provide information and resources for you, the classroom teacher, to promote the celebration of Chinese New Year.

If you use this resource, please let me know by emailing school@shantytown.co.nz with the number of students and year groups who participated.

We would love for you to send us some photos of your celebrations for us to put onto our Facebook page.

Chinese on the West Coast

Chinese began arriving on the West Coast from 1867. They initially came from the goldfields of Otago and Victoria but later came directly from China.

Many were from poor farming families and hoped to make enough money on the West Coast to improve their family's future. They were hard working and well behaved but most European miners resented the Chinese and saw them as competition, particularly during the depressed years of the 1880s.

Despite this, the Chinese were involved in the local community, they donated generously and provided fireworks displays for important celebrations such as Queen Victoria's Diamond jubilee in 1897. The number of Chinese on the West Coast dwindled during the 1920s and 1930s as miners returned home or moved to other areas of New Zealand. (Taken directly from the Shantytown Souvenir Guide)

https://nzhistory.govt.nz/anti-chinese-hysteria-dunedin

https://nzhistory.govt.nz/te-akomanga/chinese-new-year/chinese-new-year-social-studies-activities

Celebrating Chinese New Year with MVEC

Why does MVEC and Shantytown celebrate Chinese New Year? The Chinese were a major factor in the shaping of the West Coast goldfields not only in the rich culture they brought with them and the vegetables they sold to the Europeans which helped with their poor diet, but also the landscapes they shaped by the careful stacking of rocks while gold mining.

Shantytown celebrates and respects all the cultures that came here in the hope of hitting pay dirt. In actively participating and promoting this important tradition for the Chinese, this respect is acknowledged.

MVEC day plan for CNY - Every year for over 20 years, MVEC along with Shantytown decorates the township and schools book in for a visit to spend a day of fun learning. MVEC day plan for Chinese New Year

https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/festivals/chinese-new-year-why-of-new-year.htm

Our tree beautifully decorated with lucky envelopes.

The School House all set for the celebration.

Students ready for the town parade. Noise is key!

Shantytowns Chinatown

Have you visited Shantytowns Chinatown? Chinese were not allowed to live in the European settlements of the goldfields so had to build up their own shantytowns on the outskirts.

Shantytown has its own replica Chinatown by Infants Creek and below are some pictures to give you an idea of their life here in Aotearoa. Can you imagine not being allowed to live in a town but having to live on the outskirts?

The green grocers

What vegetables can you see being sold here? Do you buy your vegetables from a green grocers like this one?

What is this special plant?

Why would Shantytowns Chinatown have this plant? Why is it special to the Chinese?

Vegetable garden in Chinatown

The Chinese grew their own vegetables and often sold them to the European goldminers and later the settlers. Why do you think this is?

Who was Kai of Rutherglen?

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1V12g9Ub0dHGRQuv3ZF7_Ua4PQlesUKjQOrOgSYyExow/edit?usp=sharing

https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/10684

Kai of Rutherglen's hut

Could you sleep on this bed?

What do you think Chinese pillows looked like?

Did you think it would look like these ones?

Ceramic/Porcelain Chinese pillow

Wooden Chinese pillow

Year of the Rabbit

2023 will be the Year of the Rabbit according to Chinese zodiac, starting on the 22nd January 2023.

Were you born in the Year of the Rabbit? Check out this website to see if you or your whanau are born in the year of this special animal.

https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/zodiac/tiger.htm#:~:text=The%20Years%20of%20the%20Tiger,or%20kings%20with%20the%20tigers

Class photo in your masks - Take a class photo of all the students in their masks and send it to us!

Mask for the Rabbit

You will need:

One printout of this mask on thin cardboard for each student Rabbit Mask
Crayons
Scissors
Hole punch
String or elastic
Sellotape

Print out the template of this tiger mask and get the students to colour it in. No need to just use tiger colours!

Students can then cut out the shape of their tiger. careful, the fierce tiger likes her ears!

Put a piece of sellotape where you use the hole punch, it will work its magic - just below the eyes on either side. Then punch your hole and using the string or elastic (big enough to go around the students head), tie this to each hole.

The Zodiac Story

The Zodiac story around the legend of the Jade Emperor (one of the most important gods in traditional Chinese religion) who invited all the animals in the world to take part.