A song to celebrate the lunar new year

Song

A song to celebrate the lunar new year

About This Resource

Summary A song for children to celebrate the Rabbit Lunar New Year
Uploaded by

Details

MWE commissioned composer and dharma instructor Harry Einhorn to write a series of lunar new year songs for children. Students at the MWS school in the Hudson Valley have been practicing the rabbit year song to great effect. This series of song introduces each animal and the qualities it brings. We intend to have a complete set of all twelve animals soon. Enjoy!

The Rabbit Year Song

Look at the sky we see the moon so clear
It’s time to celebrate the lunar year
12 animals each following another
And each one has a lesson to discover

Goodbye Tiger, thank you for your turn,
It’s time for the Rabbit, what can we learn?*

Welcome rabbit with your tender heart
You leap so high but are careful how you start
Your fur is soft you bring new birth
And spread peace across the earth

Look at the sky we see the moon so clear
It’s time to celebrate the lunar year
12 animals each following another
And each one has a lesson to discover

*These two additional lines—saying goodbye to the tiger—are present in the student recording below, but not the “for learning” version.

Here are some recordings to help you learn the tune:

Did you know there is a “new year” starting almost every month depending on the tradition you follow? While Chinese New Year was celebrated by more than a billion people in January, Tibetan New Year (also called Losar) is celebrated on February 21 (2023). Both welcome the year of the Water Rabbit. So Happy New Year once again! We’ve collected a ton of ideas on how to celebrate the lunar new year with children including art projects, activities, songs and more. Follow the link to “Ways to Celebrate the Lunar New Year” below.

Ways to Celebrate the Lunar New Year

Related Resources

Sit with Me Song

February 26, 2024
Gillian Eames, the preschool teacher at the Middle Way School in New York, put music to Carolyn Kanjuro's book Sit With Me. The song teaches the seven points of meditation posture.
 

The Lunar New Year Song: Wood Dragon Year

February 9, 2024
Downloadable audio and lyrics. Middle Way Education commissioned composer Harry Einhorn to develop this Lunar New Year celebration song, adding a new verse every year, one for each animal of asian astrology.
 

Shugen Roshi on Equanimity, Emotions, and Walking Meditation!

January 25, 2024
This video recording (1hr) is of Shugen Roshi's talk at the Middle Way School in January 2024. Shugen sat with students and parents to talk about impermanence, one of Middle Way Education’s core units of inquiry. He focussed on the importance of cultivating equanimity in the context of recognizing the impermanent, always-changing quality of all things. He also fielded questions from parents and students, who wanted to know things like “how did the Buddha have fun?”
Empty Oryoki Bowls 

Lunch Rituals

January 9, 2024
This lunch ritual is loosely based on ōryōki, a Zen monastic eating meditation that places an emphasis on service, generosity, and appreciation. It was developed by Noa Jones and Catherine Fordham for the Middle Way School of the Hudson Valley. Shared mealtime is an opportunity to foster a healthy relationship to food, enjoy each other’s company, and create a harmonious environment at the table. Creating a consistent mealtime practice can help children feel more focussed and be more present with their food.

About The Author

Middle Way Education

Middle Way Education is a global, open source platform for sharing resources that support dharma education for children. Our hope is to create pathways for traditional Buddhist wisdom and knowledge to enhance modern education for the benefit of this and future generations.

Leave a Reply