Happy New Year! What, you think I'm crazy because it's way after January 1st? Well, I'm not talking about the end of the western calendar year kind of new year, I'm talking about the Chinese New Year!

You see, in the western world, we go by a different calendar than the Eastern world. We consider this year to be 2008, but in China they go by the lunar calendar on which the year is 4706.

Instead of a fixed date for the first day of the new year (Like January 1st) the Lunar New Year changes every year. It starts on the day of the first new moon of the year, and ends 15 days later when the moon is full. This means that by our calendar Chinese New Year can fall anytime between late January to late February.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are giant family oriented holidays in China. People travel all across the country to be with their family and to enjoy big meals together, but it's not just immediate family that is thought about. It's very important that ancestors are remembered and honored during the new year celebration as well.

There are lots of traditions surrounding the new year, including cleaning the house from top to bottom, and paying off any debts. Another tradition is giving red envelopes filled with money to kids. In China, the color red symbolized happiness, and it is believed that giving money will bring luck in the upcoming year.

Of course the new year is also celebrated with fireworks and firecrackers. Firecrackers are little packages of gunpowder rolled up in pieces of red paper (for good luck) that are strung together in long rows. That way you only have to light one end, and all the firecrackers explode down the row. They can be strung together in the hundreds and they make really loud noises (which some say scares away any bad spirits).

The Chinese New Year also corresponds with the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. A new animal is represented every year and people born during this time are supposed to take on the characteristics of the animal. This year the animal is the rat. You might think that rats are scary or gross, but being born in the year of the rat symbolizes wit, imagination, curiosity and a lot of energy. Hmm, that sounds more like the year of the kiwi bird to me.

Class dismissed! Happy Chinese New Year to you all!

The Great Wall was originally a series of small, separate walls created by the independent countries that made up the area that is now China. When China was unified under the first Emperor Qin, in 221 BCE, he ordered the small walls be connected and the Great Wall was born to protect China from enemies outside its borders. Yet, as people all throughout history have discovered, building a wall doesn't necessarily keep out those you are trying to keep out. The Mongol leader Genghis Khan famously said, "A wall is only as good as its defenders," and then went on to attack China.

In the 1400's, after the Mongol attack, a Ming dynasty emperor ordered another 600 miles be added to the wall, and rebuilt older sections to be more secure. It is said that it took over 100 years to re-enforce it and tens of thousands of workers died under the cruel working conditions.

The part of the wall that we visited is between 23 and 26 feet tall. It's made of mostly granite and is very strong because this section was seen as strategically important for protecting the city of Beijing. The guard towers are the length that two arrows could fly apart, so that every part of the wall could be defended from them. This part of the wall is also incredibly well preserved. In some parts of the country the Great Wall has crumbled away to ruins.

No one knows exactly how long the Great Wall is, but estimates range from 1,500 to several thousand miles. Oh, and despite what you might have heard, you actually cannot see the Great Wall from space. A Chinese astronaut confirmed that in 2003.

The Great Wall