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Happy New Year

January 26, 2009

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The Ox is here.

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Winter Solstice - 冬至 - Dōng Zhì

冬至 As the longest night of the year is a time for optimism. It an fall anywhere between December 20th and 22nd. (12/22/2007, 12/21/2005) Dōng Zhì, the Winter Solstice, is the “shortest day of the year”. The Chinese usually celebrate dōng zhì is usually celebrated on the longest night of the year. . . and (as with virtually every Chinese holiday I tell you about) it is a time for family reunions and special food. Farmers and fisherman are especially celebrating after preparations for the cold season. By at least 500 BCE, the Chinese knew the date of the Winter Solstice by observing the movements of the sun with a sundial China Internet Information Center> . Winter Solstice has been celebrated in China for at least 1,800 years. Shoes were one of the common gifts by 300 AD. Traditions for this holiday – like every other vary considerably. In Northern China, many people eat dumplings, dumpling soup, or mutton. These are all hot Yang foods which warm th...

Kimchi & Calamari

Really enjoyed this book by Rose Kent (for 9 - 12 year olds) about a 14 year old (Korea) boy adopted by an Italian family in America and his "struggles with self-identity". I am sure it will be described many places as "a great book, especially for those with cross- cultural adoptions". I think it is a good book. Period. A good book. Well-written, for all of us. You may want to do it as a read-aloud so that "those discussions" do happen.

Paper Folding

Origami is the word for Japanese paper folding, but there is a (perhaps longer) tradition of paper folding in China. Some historians believe that it started not longer after Ts'ai Lun invented paper in China in A.D. 105. Many say both paper and paper folding were introduced to Japan in the late 6 th century by Buddhist monks. Unfortunately, there are no records of Chinese paper folding, and the oldest Japan records are from 1797 (in the 18 th century). Separately paperfolding originated in Spain (Arabs brought the secret of paper to them in the 12 th century).Children can benefit from origami in many ways – the listening skills, sequencing, fine motor, attention, math skills (geometry, congruence, symmetry). Last year, I saw an article on about how it helps in using both sides of the brain. Whether you research it or not, Enjoy! Classic Paper Crane: Filmmaker, George Levenson won awards for his Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes . You can see clips of tha...

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