Happy Chinese New Year!

Today is the first day of the Year of the Ox. Two thoughts related to the holiday:

1. We took the girls to the Lunar New Year festival in Oakland's Chinatown yesterday and they had a great time taking in the sights. The Lion Dance was the biggest hit, since they could see the kids underneath who were manipulating the costume.

For me, it was a reminder of how great it is to take kids to lots of cultural festivals. They're colorful events, and usually feature lots of music and dancing. On the budget side of things they're often free.

But there's more to it. Raising kids with a green conscience isn't just about what you buy or behaviors like reusing and recycling. It's also making them aware of how wide our world is and how many people we share it with. The slice they see everyday is a wonderful part, but it's just a part!

Often there is a calendar of festivals posted for major cities. For instance, this is the one for Oakland in 2009, though it looks like some festivals I'd expect to see there aren't up yet.

2. We just got the girls a new book that they love (see left). It's called "The Pet Dragon: A story about adventure, friendship and Chinese characters." The book mixes a nice story of friendship with a subtle lesson about Chinese characters that is appropriate starting at any age. And probably until any age (unless you're already fluent in Chinese and this is just silly and elementary).

The story and illustrations are by Christoph Niemann whose work I really like. In fact, one of my favorite blog posts of all time is the art-blog he did about coffee for the New York Times. If you haven't seen it, it's worth a look. And if you're passionate about your coffee, it's a must see.