picture 1. 
picture 1.
Chinese
New Year is a time for festivities that are both cultural and colorful. Chinese
New Year is celebrated anytime in late January to early February this depends on
when the first new moon of the year will be. Chinese New Year begins on a New
Moon and ends with the lantern festival on the full moon 15 days later. Dragons
are an important part of the New Year Celebration as they represent good luck
and the eventual arrival of spring. Celebrate Chinese New Year with your own
parade by creating beautiful, colorful dancing dragons. You can also use them as
shadow puppets for even more creative fun!
YOU WILL NEED:
Bright colored paper
Glue
Scissors
Glitter (optional)
Crayons, markers or soft pastels (we used pastels because of their color
brilliance)
Pencil
Chopsticks, bamboo skewers or straws
Books
or pictures of Chinese New Year parades/celebrations
Pencil
Chopsticks,
bamboo skewers or straws
Procedure:
1. Have pictures or a book about Chinese dragons to help you with your
design. Encourage budding artists
to enhance their experience by learning something about the subject of their
artwork.
2.
Cut a rectangle 4” x 18” from bright colored construction paper.
Accordion-fold the paper with vertical folds.
This will be the body of your dragon.
3.
Use a different colored paper than the body, to trace and cut out the dragon
head and tail. Use our template or your own.
4. Use crayons, markers or soft pastels to decorate the head and tail in a festive way. If you use the soft pastels, spray your work after with a fixative spray or aerosol hairspray like Aquanet. Once you have the face and tail done, embellish them with glitter or feathers.
5.
Roll the first couple of inches of the chopsticks, skewers or straws around the
back of the head and tail. Affix this with glue to have two handles so you can
maneuver your puppet. (see picture 1)
6. Glue the head to one end of the accordion folded paper and the tail to the
opposite end. The handles should
come out of the bottom of your dragon. Allow the glue to dry before engaging in
play. (picture 2)
You are ready to dance your dragon for the celebration! Another creative use of your artwork is to stand in front of a wall with a light shining on you and your dragon, dance and move him in front of the wall creating shadows. Have your own shadow puppet show. Create an enchanting tale of dragon lore to enhance your show.