***Ice cream was invented in China around 2000BC
when the Chinese packed a soft milk and rice mixture
in the snow.***

***Each year is represented by an animal. There are twelve animals which represent the twelve months. ***

***Fourth graders are expected to know 2,000 of the over 40,000 written Chinese characters. By the time they leave college, they will know 4,000 or 5,000 characters. Each character is learned by looking at it and memorizing it.
Unlike the 26 letters of our alphabet, words cannot be sounded out letter by letter.***

There are a number of different beliefs as to how Lunar New year started, but one of the more colorful Chinese legends involves a beast with an enormous mouth that could swallow people whole. This beast, named Nian, terrified people until an old man (an immortal god in disguise) tamed it, riding Nian into the sunset. Before the old man left, he suggested that people hang red paper decorations on their windows and doors at each year's end. The color red was the color the beast feared most - and thus it would scare Nian, if the beast ever came back.