Let’s Make a Year of the Rat Firecracker Garland
Published on: January 14, 2020
Chinese Lunar New Year is coming and it’s the Year of the Rat! Here is a fun craft activity to enjoy and celebrate.
By Sara Jadiya Chow
In the old days upon Chinese new year, country folks would light up firecrackers to scare away the child-eating monster『Nian』, which means “YEAR.”
Although our world has modernized, we still continue the tradition of hanging firecrackers in front of our doors during this festive season to chase away bad luck coming our way.
Here’s a DIY firecracker craft (without actual firecrackers!) you can make with your children at home.
Things you will need
- 1 paper plate
- 10 toilet paper rolls
- 1.5m red ribbon
- 80cm red ribbon
- Red paint
- Gold paint or gold tape
- (Optional) Gold flowers, stars for extra festive cheer
Instructions
Rat template: Click on the image to open the full-size rate template in a new tab and save/download.
- Paint the paper plate red. Let dry.
- Paint all the paper rolls red. Let dry.
- Print or sketch out the rat template (click on the image to the right) and color in.
- Cut out the rat and glue onto the plate.
- Use gold tape or gold paint to paint 1cm edges on both ends of all the red paper rolls.
- Fold the 1.5m ribbon in half and staple to the top of the paper plate, creating a loop for hanging.
- Secure the remaining length of the hanging ribbon by sticking with tape at the back of the plate.
- Staple all the rolls onto the ribbons.
- Tie a ribbon into a bow on top of the paper roll bundle to finish.
新年快樂 (Xin Nian Kuai Le) – Happy New Year!
About the Author
Sara is a Cantonese (Hong Kong) – Thai mixed Mommy who has lived in Bangkok for 28 years. She speaks Cantonese, Mandarin, Thai and English fluently and has been BAMBI’s Chinese coordinator since May 2018.
The views expressed in the articles in this magazine are not necessarily those of BAMBI committee members and we assume no responsibility for them or their effects. BAMBI News welcomes volunteer contributors to our magazine. Please contact editor@bambiweb.org.
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