Chinese New Year Cantonese Teaching Activities and Resources 農曆新年粵語教材

農曆新年香港粵語教材廣東話

Chinese New year, arguably the most important of Chinese festivals. For Chinese around the world, this is one festival that needs no introduction. Many non-Chinese, too, are familiar with Chinese New Year

Here’s a round-up of various free Cantonese resources that I have found, so that you can seize the opportunity to to provide more immersion into Cantonese language and culture during this festive time.

 

1. Music

財神到 God of Wealth is Arriving Cantopop by Sam Hui

The most famous of Chinese New Year songs, 財神到 never gets old. Watch the music video and download the lyrics (with jyutping) here.

 

Cantonese Chinese New Year Kid’s Songs 粵語新年兒 YouTube Playlists

Fill your home with Chinese New Year Cantonese music with this YouTube playlist. Have your children sing and dance to these tunes. Playlist by Michigan Cantonese Storytime.

For a more extensive list of Cantonese Chinese New Year songs  (not just for kids) , please checkout this playlist.

 

2. Stories and Book Readings

Chinese New Year themed book readings YouTube Playlist

The playlist includes a series of over 20 Lunar New Year books read in Cantonese. Below is my favorite Chinese New Year book read by Cantonese Mommy, because it is specific to Hong Kong.

 

Learning more about Chinese New Year YouTube Playlist

Chinese New Year Cantonese Stories on YouTube Playlist

Watch these Chinese New Year themed stories, cartoons and animations in preparation for Chinese New Year.


The above video from Sticky Love Family even has Cantonese subtitles, and transcripts (which I like to copy to a word document for further study).

 

Free Ebook from easyRead Chinese

About 12 Zodiac animals. Follow the link to the website to download.

Meizhou Chinese Resources- Stories

Of the many Meizhou stories, I found two Chinese New Year Stories (with audio recordings):

These stories are from Level 2 of Meizhou textbooks. Please note the PDFs are in black and white, the PowerPoint files are in colour. (Pix on left from Powerpoint file).

Huayu World

If you have an advanced reader, you can also check out these stories/ passages by Huayu World from Taiwan. The passages are in Traditional Chinese. You can read on screen, or download the PDFs.

The Story of Nian 年獸的故事 – a short reading by Hing Hing Sone Sone. Download and video available.

 

十二生肖 12 Zodiac animals Ebook by Joy Chinese School

 

Chinese New Year (春節): Story & activity book for kids by Welly Chinese

This beautiful 46-page booklet can be found for free download on Teachers Pay Teachers and includes Nian the Monster (年獸來了) story and coloring book, New Years Paper Cutting (剪春迎新春) craft activity, 春, 年, 紅 writing practice sheets and flashcards, Kid friendly recipe for Po Po’s Nian Gao (婆婆的年糕) . You will need to sign up for a Teachers Pay Teachers membership (for free) as a member to download this.

 

Vintage Readers

These readers are from a series of elementary readers written in Traditional Chinese  and English for the Cantonese Chinese in America in the 1970s. The series was designed to familiarize children with the traditional major Chinese festivals celebrated by the Cantonese Chinese in America.  There are two books with Chinese New Year themes:

Looks cute to be used as a colouring book for younger children. The Chinese is handwritten.

 

3. Vocabulary

Chinese New Year Cantonese Vocabulary Videos on YouTube Playlist

Watch some of these videos to learn more Chinese New Year vocabulary.

Check out this blogpost Chinese New Year Cantonese Vocabulary, Greetings and Banners 揮春 for lots more resources and free printables including 

as well as flashcards, posters and lots more by other creators of Cantonese resources.

 

 

 

 

 

An infographic on how to celebrate Chinese New Year!

And about 年廿八，洗邋遢

About some taboos

4. Worksheets, games and other resources

Fortune Cookie Mom

Chinese New Year mini book free

 

Chinese New Year Activity Pack by Little Chinese Learners

18-page activity booklet. Download link in Facebook post below. Includes character writing, paper cutting, DIY red envelope, and craft. Some are tiger specific, and all are very cute. 2021 version can be accessed here. 2021 version also has a Bingo game

 

Le Le Chinese New Year Advent Calendar by Le Le Culture Co Ltd

Sign up for their email to receive the download link.

 

Michigan Cantonese Storytime

(New content and resources are added to the Michigan Cantonese Storytime Facebook page every few days, so do follow them for new updates.)

 

Chinese New Year Activity Booklet 遊戲冊 , Banners揮春, and Worksheets 工作紙  by Beannie Bear 小熊豆豆一家

The video in the post below shows what is available, and the link for download is within the post.

 

 

DIY Red Banners and Chinese New Year Box自制揮春同DIY攢盒

The former is good for word recognition, and the latter is a great way to learn about the auspicious CNY food 過年好意頭食品. I particularly like the explanation about how food is related to auspicious sayings e.g. 年糕- 步步高升, 蘋果- 平平安安.

思展最新活動有自制揮春同DIY攢盒

 

Mamaloveprint Handwriting sheets.

Download link within the post.

Chinese New Year Worksheets 33 pages from Mamaloveprint 幼兒工作紙.

Download link to be sent via DM after you follow the instructions within the post. (Update 2022 – not sure if this is still working, as I did not receive a DM).

 

Chinese New Year Materials for Elementary Teachers

This is a very old resource book (1975) designed to be used by teachers in Chinese bilingual bicultural programs. The materials in the book are based on Chinese New Year customs still observed in Chinese-American communities. The resource book contains five types of materials:

  •  a general introduction to the Chinese New Year, including the Chinese Lunar Year and the Cycle of the Twelve Animals,
  • Chinese New Year stories, written in both Cantonese and English
  • Chinese New Year songs, in both Cantonese and English
  • recipes for the Chinese New Year
  • art projects

I found the songs (Include a simple music score) most useful.

 

4. Zodiac-themed resources and printables

The Chinese Zodiacs 十二生肖的故事 story and flashcards by Hing Hing Sone Sone Cantonese

with accompanying video

The Chinese Zodiacs 十二生肖的故事

 

Hong Kong Food Friends Chinese Zodiac flashcards & Bingo sheets

 

12 Zodiac Animals Writing Sheets

十二生肖撲克牌 Zodiac Animals Playing Cards by Joy中文學校 Joy Chinese School

十二生肖生字本 Zodiac Animals Writing Worksheets by Joy中文學校 Joy Chinese School

 

十二生肖頁角書籤 Zodiac Animals Corner Bookmarks

 

12 Zodiac Animals – Flashcards and Wheel and Song by Locy Lee

(Update: use this link to access the printables, as the one via the Facebook post does not seem to work. )

On this same website (where all her resources can be downloaded), there is also a 十二生肖嘉年華 song – MP3 file and lyrics.

 

6. Crafts

Chinese New Year – Craft Cantonese 農曆新年手工 YouTube Playlist

A compilation of Cantonese videos here, most are about using red packets to create Chinese New year Items. (Maybe because using the search term 利是 is a sure way to find Cantonese videos. ).

Paper Cutting  by Locy Lee

Template for download can be found in the link above

Paper Cutting by 好好私塾

Link to templates for cutting are within the post. Includes both Tiger themed and generic CNY themed cuttings. Limited time offer.

CNY Flower pot by Little Bean Cantonese

Little Bean Cantonese has done it again, with a unique, simple to make, and soo cute design. Brighten your home with this!

 

Red Packet Fish by DIY 賀年掛飾

 

Hing Hing Sine Sone Cantonese school share lots of Chinese new year crafts with free downloadable templates. Videos in Cantonese can also be found on the same webpage.

 

 

春節祈願樹 Wishing Tree by Joy Chinese

Easy Peasy Craft Ideas by 媽咪老師聯絡簿

Other Chinese New Year craft available in Traditional Chinese ( not Cantonese specific):

Fortune Cookie Mom has also compiled the most comprehensive list regarding Chinese New Year resources, and I just had to include them here, even though they are not in Cantonese. (Mostly in English)

There are lots more Chinese New year craft on the internet – just do a search on google or pinterest. I only listed those which have a link to Cantonese or Traditional Chinese.

 

7. Chinese New Year in Hong Kong

Learn about Hong Kong customs and celebrations with this YouTube playlist or watch this video below to hear a summary of various customs.

Check out some articles about how Chinese New Year is celebrated in Hong Kong. Customs vary, and there are alot of specific traditions, so what you might read in generic articles and books may not apply.  And of course, this year will be a bit different and quieter, with social distancing restrictions, for the third consecutive Chinese New Year.

I just want to add that in Hong Kong, there is specific Chinese New Year and Reunion dinner food. It is not common in Hong Kong and some parts of Asia to eat dumplings during this time. I found some articles, that touch on Chinese New Year Food specific  to Hong Kong, though it is not a comprehensive list.

Other Chinese New Year resources :

2 thoughts on “Chinese New Year Cantonese Teaching Activities and Resources 農曆新年粵語教材”

  1. Blythe says:

    Wow, these are amazing! I’m not Cantonese but these will be equally helpful as Mandarin resources. Thank you so much for compiling and for sharing! 新年快乐!

    Reply
    • Cantonese For Families says:

      Hi Blythe,

      I’m really happy that you find them helpful. Yes, many of them work for both Cantonese and Mandarin, especially the print materials. Happy lunar new year!

      Reply

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