Everything’s been buzzing on high lately at the hive and for good reason. We are totally excited for the Chinese New Year coming up this month! YAY! We’ve been decorating and celebrating with different activities focused on the annual Spring Festival.
This coming year will be the Year of the Rat! As legend goes, when Buddha had decided to conduct a grand race before his departure from earth, he invited the whole animal kingdom to compete. In the end, only twelve animals came and he named each of the Chinese Zodiac calendar years after them.
The order of arrival was: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. This year marks the first of the calendar cycle again with the rat and the first for this decade! How exciting!
So, how are you gearing up for the Spring Festival? Most families join the millions of others in the mass exodus to visit family in other cities or other countries, while some decide to have a staycation instead. Shanghai, usually a bustling city, almost becomes a ghost town, as many leave to spend the holiday elsewhere with family.
No matter how you spend your holiday, we hope it’s a safe one! Here are our top three tips to make this holiday the best one yet!
Holiday Tip#1: Get Organized
To ensure you’ve got all your bases covered, we highly recommend making a checklist of everything you need to take care of before your trip. Make sure you have all your travel documents up-to-date and your transportation/hotel information handy. If you’re staying put in Shanghai, it also makes great sense to have a general plan as to your meals/grocery shopping since most places will be closed for the holidays.
Holiday Tip#2: Get Entertainment
If you’re one of the lucky ones traveling within China for the Spring Festival, think about the long queues you may face or the traffic if traveling by car. Have some fun entertainment around for you and your little ones such as colouring books, card games or activity kits. These will surely help when you need to entertain the kiddies while getting to your destination.
Holiday Tip#3: Get Rest
Make sure everyone gets enough rest and relaxation during the break. With lots of people traveling around this break, it may be a little too easy to catch a cold or virus, so be well-rested so that your immune systems are in top notch, especially your children’s. Keep well hydrated with water, have your travel meds with you and stay healthy throughout the holiday so you have more time to play! Keep some masks handy and hand sanitizer too!
We hope you all have a wonderful and safe Chinese New Year! We look forward to what this new lunar year brings and wish you all a Happy Rat Year!
Come and see the buzz! Only at Busy Bee!
Have a BEE-utiful day!
BUSY BEE EDUCATION