New Year Celebrations Around the World
Grades 3-5
by Kathie McDavid|Fulton County Schools
Mcdavid@mail02.fulton.k12.ga.us

Introduction | Task| Resources | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion

Introduction

    All over the world, people welcome the new year for it is one of the oldest of all holidays.  Most New Year celebrations focus on family and friends.  It is a time to reflect on the past and envision a future, perhaps, in a world where people live together in harmony.
    In the United States we celebrate the New Year on the first day of January but not all New Year celebrations take place on the same day or in the same way!  Sometimes this is because people in different parts of the world use different calendars.  China and Israel keep a lunar calendar.  It is based on the movement of the moon around the Earth.  Some countries celebrate in the spring when new crops begin to grow or in autumn when the crops are harvested.  Adults and children have many different ways of welcoming the New Year.  Wouldn't it be fun to travel around the world and celebrate the New Year all year long?


Task
    It's party time!  Our class will have a New Year's celebration to learn about the cultural and religious differences and similarities between ourselves and other diverse cultures.  Each of you will be required to present the New Year traditions from a different country or culture to the class (see list below), complete a chart (see Evaluation) for comparisons, and then plan a trip around the world to experience as many of the New Year celebrations as possible in the year 2000.

Choose a partner and select one of the countries or cultures below for your research.
With the teacher's approval, you may also select a different country than the ones listed.


 


Resources
To complete this assignment, you may use the selections of books, encyclopedias, videos, magazines, and other resources available in our classroom and media center.  You will also find the following Internet sites useful for your project:

General Information and Multicultural Sites
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/1502/newyrleg.html
wysiwyg://2/http://www.alltel.net/~wildrose/NewYears/ny.html
http://home.talkcity.com/BlabWay/^hera^/newyears.html
http://www.coe.wayne.edu/~mpettap/lesson/newyr.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/7214/newyear.htm
http://wilstar.com/holidays/newyear.htm
http://www.celebrate.Y2K.com/
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/world/newyear_1230/
http://members.tripod.com/~christmasangel_2/newyears.html
http://mealtime.org/news/fact_newyears.html
Jewish New Year
http://www.chabadcenters.com/high/tishrei-home.asp
http://www.new-year.co.uk/jewish/history.htm
Vietnamese Tet
http://www.web-holidays.com/tet
http://www.destinationvietname.com/dv/dv15/dv15e.htm
htttp://www.saigon.com/~nguyent/tet.html
http://familyculture.com/tet/htm
Scottish New Year
http://www.alltel.net/~wildrose/NewYears/hogmanay.html
http://www.caithness-mm.co.uk/discover/essential/esshogm.html
http://www.britannia.com/wales/culture2.html
Persian New Year
http://www.payvand.com/ny/massoume.html
http://persianoutpost.com/htdocs/nowrooz.html
http:www.abadan.com/nowrouz.html
http://Persia.ORG/Culture/nowruz.html
http://farsinet.com/norooz/
Chinese New Year
http://www.new-year.co.uk/chinese/
http://www.brokersys.com/~kcyong/cny.html
http://www.alltel.net/~wildrose/NewYears/Chinese.html
http://jasono.hypermart.net/main.htm
http://www.indiana.edu/~chasso/newyear.html
http://education-world.com/a_curr/curr116.shtml
http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/festival_c/html_/spring.htm
Japanese New Year
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2064.html
http://jcult.com/festindex.html
 http://tanutech.com/japan/newyear.html
 http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/2060/culture2.html
http://www.zuzu.org/japan.html
http://leahi.kcc.hawaii.edu/~jclub/festival/newyear.htm
American New Year
http://recipes.wenzel.net/t/traditional_hopping_john.html
http://wilstar.com/holidays/newyear.htm
http://www4.district125.k12.il.us/faculty/mplank/newyear.html
Islamic New Year
 http://www.indonet.com/HolidaysandFestivals.html
http://www.indiatimes.com/festival/baisakhi.html
http://enquirer.com/editions/1999/11/05/loc_hindus_to_light_up.htm
http://noblenet.org/year/Hy10diw.htm
Austrian New Year
http://www.serve.com/shea/germusa/silvestr.htm
Hispanic New Year
http://ipanema.com/pictours/newyears1.htm#ny
 
 
 
 
 


Process

    Once you have selected one of the countries or cultures from the list above, you will form a partnership in the Millennium Travel Agency.  As partners, you will begin to research the New Year traditions of your country to include (but you are not limited to) the following:

    Working together, you will plan an oral presentation for the rest of the class.  As travel agents, you will want to persuade as many customers as possible to visit your country for its New Year's celebration.  (Remember, several countries may celebrate the New Year at the same time.)  During your presentation, you may want to include music, costumes, literature or stories, language phrases or vocabulary, related crafts or activities, charts or displays, multimedia products, decorations, and/or traditional foods and recipes.

Evaluation
    During the presentations, all students will complete the following chart.
You may use notebook paper to record additional information.

New Year Comparison Chart

Name:
 
 
Country/Culture
Continent
New Year Date
  Origins 
Traditions
Foods
American          
Austrian          
Cambodian          
Chinese          
Greek          
Hispanic          
Iranian          
Islamic          
Japanese          
Jewish          
Scottish          
Vietnamese          
           

    It's the year 2000 minus 10 seconds in Bluff Harbor, Southland, New Zealand, near the International Date Line, and the countdown begins...

    After you have heard all the presentations and have completed the chart, you will create a travel itinerary indicating the dates and locations of your travel during the year 2000.  Try to include as many New Year celebrations as you can.  An itinerary calendar can be found in the front of your passport.

    New Years Around the World Student Evaluation Rubric

Name:                                                       Date:
Topic:                                                       Partner:
 
 
Tasks
Attempted
Acceptable
Admirable
Awesome
Presentation
 Exhibits little or no planning and practice, and lacks organization. Exhibits some planning and practice, but lacks organization. Exhibits adequate planning, practice, and organization. Exhibits extensive planning, practice and organization.
Internet Research
 Did not use web sites effectively.  Little facts collected to selected culture. Used the web sites available in an acceptable manner but did not consult any additional resources. Utilized the web and additional resources fully.  At times, took the initiative to find information outside of school. Went above and beyond to research information and brought in ideas to enhance project.
Objective Knowledge
 Knowledge of subject not evident.  Outcome is confusing or flawed. Some knowledge is evident.  Outcome is somewhat confusing or flawed. Knowledge of subject is evident.  Outcome is clear, correct and appropriate. Knowledge is evident throughout and outcome was more than required.
Decision Making Process
(Travel Itinerary)
 Minimal use of analysis in selecting  criteria and alternatives. Some logical sequence of selections. Criteria and alternatives demonstrate some analysis. Logical sequence of information.  Alternatives are clear, reasonable, and direct. Logical, intuitive sequence of information.  Evaluated all criteria and alternatives clearly.
Collaboration
 Rarely contributed to project; often reminded to focus and produce; frequently off-task. Contributions were not equal although some of the criteria was accomplished.  At times, was distracted from task. Contributed good effort to the project.  Was helpful and cooperative in his/her share. Contributed exceptional effort to the project.  Went above and beyond the call of duty to further group's work.
Self-Evaluation
(Frequent Flyer Miles)
2000 miles
5000 miles
10,000 miles
20,000 miles

 
 


Conclusion

    What a trip you have planned for the dawn of the new millennium!  Grab your laptop with with suitcases and passport!  For some entertainment during your flight, try some of these activities during your trip!  Have fun and Bon Voyage!

New Year's Resolutions and Crossword Puzzle
http://www.bonus.com/contour/puzzle_newy
Coloring Page
http://heathersholidaze.com/index.html
Plan a Party http://family.go.com/categories/Activities/Features/family_1998_12/famf/famf128newyear/famf128newyear.html
First Night Fun
http://virtualfirstnight.org/children.htm
Games, Clipart, Calendars, Coloring and Recipes http://billybear4kids.com/holidays/newyears/fun.htm
Play Da-Cau
http://www.web-holidays.com/tet/game.htm
Try a Persian Word Search
http://www.edunetconnect.com/cat/farsi.html
Fun Things to See and Do
 http://blackdog.net/holiday/newyear/index.html
Mad Libs and Kick Father Time Into the New Year
http://www.att.com/holidays/merriment/story.html


 New Year's Clipart
 
Special Thanks to Cathy Baril, Stephanie Colegrave, Lauri Hugelier, Stacey Jenkins, and Connie Naumann for the New Years Around the World Lesson Plan!

Top                                             Have a Happy    

      New Year!