This was Bo’s favourite time of year. Everyone was here! Mum, Dad, Bo, Leo, Gran, Cousin Evie, Uncle Charlie, Auntie Mei and Uncle Jian were all squeezed around the table.
All of Bo’s family had gathered together for a reunion dinner. They were celebrating a very special and exciting occasion…
Chinese New Year!
After dinner, Auntie Mei showed Bo and Evie how to make boiled dumplings. The girls loved getting their hands all sticky in the mixture.
They finished boiling the dumplings just in time for the fireworks.
Uncle Jian and Mum wished each other a happy New Year in Mandarin Chinese.
“I can’t believe we got to stay up until midnight!” exclaimed Bo as she nibbled on a dumpling.
“How do I say that?” Evie asked Bo. “You say it like this: Sheen nian kwai luh,” said Bo.
“Xīn nián kuài lè!” everyone shouted happily.
Bo and Evie gazed through the windows at the bright, colourful patterns exploding in the night sky.
The next morning, Bo and Evie woke up full of excitement. When they got downstairs, they were each given some lucky red envelopes with money inside. “Thank you!” they both said with huge smiles on their faces.
“Now go and get dressed while I make breakfast,” said Dad. “We can leave for the parade as soon as you’re ready!”
Soon, the family had arrived in the hustle and bustle of the festival. The noise of the crowd filled the air and the streets were bright with colour.
As they walked past the food stalls, Evie couldn’t believe her eyes. “There’s just so much to choose from!”
“The best part is the dragon,” said Bo excitedly. “Just wait until you see it!”
Evie bought some delicious sweets and shared them with Bo as they looked around at the red and gold decorations.
Walking through the crowd, Evie noticed someone holding a paper dragon on wooden sticks. “Is that the dragon?” she asked hopefully. “No,” Bo explained, “that’s not the dragon we’re looking for – but those ones are good fun!”
Uncle Jian passed some money to the woman behind the stall and took two of the paper dragons. “Here, you can have one each,” he said with a smile, as he handed them to Bo and Evie.
Bo pulled Evie further down the busy street and then suddenly, they heard a loud banging on a drum. Coming towards them through the crowd was a multicoloured animal with big eyes and a huge mouth.
“That must be the dragon!” shouted Evie over the noise of the drums. “No,” explained Bo, “those are the lion dancers. They’re amazing!”
“What a show!” said Gran. “What next?”
“Shall we go and find the Blue Dragon?” Mum asked, pointing down a narrow street. Evie’s face lit up. ‘Finally, we get to see the dragon!’ she thought.
“The Blue Dragon is our favourite restaurant,” explained Bo. “You should try the pork buns, they’re yummy.”
Once everyone had eaten, Mum passed them all a piece of paper. “It’s time to write your wishes for the wishing tree,” she said.
“Make sure it’s a good one,” Bo whispered to Evie. “It might come true!”
“Where next?” asked Uncle Charlie.
“We need to find a good spot for Bo’s favourite part of the day,” replied Dad.
Everyone hung their wishes on the wishing tree, feeling hopeful about what the year would bring.
The family found a space amongst the hundreds of excited people.
“Look!” shouted Dad. “There it is!” Evie turned around and saw the most enormous,
While they were waiting, Evie and Bo listened eagerly as Uncle Jian told the story of the Chinese zodiac.
colourful,
spectacular…
…dragon! Evie stared in wonder, trying to work out how the people were making it move. It was the most amazing puppet she had ever seen. The family watched as the magical creature made its way through the crowd.
“Wow!” exclaimed Evie. “That really was the best part!”