“Warm winter day, happy new year!”- Children’s high-level class in Confucius Institute at the University of Latvia have traditional Chinese Papercuts class

On December 17-18, students from the Confucius Institute at the University of Latvia and the high-level and higher-level students of the University of Latvia and the Chinese teacher volunteer Zou Yaping experienced the happy New Year theme paper-cuts culture class, using traditional Chinese paper-cutting methods to express the Western-style New Year’s greetings and blessings.

At the beginning of the class, the teacher showed the culture of Chinese paper-cutting and its application in life. Near the Christmas and New Year in the West, the teacher teaches students how to express Christmas blessings and New Year’s greetings in Chinese, and let the students learn to infer the blessings of various festivals in Chinese. Then officially entered the paper-cutting section. First, the students started with a simple two-fold paper-cut. The teacher showed a picture of the two-fold paper-cut Christmas tree. The students quickly mastered the trick of paper-cutting, and lovely Christmas trees appeared in front of them. Next, the teacher showed the cutting method of the six-fold paper-cut snowflake. The students said that it was a bit complicated at first, but under the guidance of the teacher, they quickly mastered the trick of six-fold paper-cutting and began to design their own six-fold Paper-cut pattern. With the help of the teacher, the students pasted the Christmas tree, snowflakes, and other paper-cut patterns that express the beautiful wishes of the New Year on the background paper, and took photos with their own paper-cut works.

This paper-cut culture course combining Chinese and Western cultural elements not only allows students to improve their hands-on ability, deepen their understanding of Chinese paper-cut culture, but also allows teachers and students to feel the warmth of the beautiful blessings produced by their own hands on a cold winter day.

当地时间12月17-18日，拉脱维亚大学孔子学院本部少儿高级班、高高级班的学生们同汉语教师志愿者邹亚平一起体验了快乐的新年主题剪纸文化课，用传统的中国剪纸方式来表达对西式新年的憧憬和祝福。

课堂的开始，老师展示了关于中国剪纸的文化及在生活中的应用。临近西方圣诞节及新年，老师教学生们如何用汉语表达圣诞祝福及新年祝福，并让学生们学会举一反三，用汉语说出各种节日的祝福。接着正式进入剪纸环节，首先学生们从简单的二折剪纸入手，老师展示了二折剪纸圣诞树的图片，学生们迅速掌握了二折剪纸的窍门，一棵棵可爱的圣诞树便呈现于眼前。接下来，老师展示了六折剪纸雪花的剪法，学生们一开始表示有点复杂，但是在老师的示范和引导下，他们也很快掌握了六折剪纸的窍门，纷纷开始设计自己的六折剪纸图案。在老师的帮助下，学生们把圣诞树、雪花、其他表达新年美好祝福的剪纸图案粘贴在背景纸上，并与自己的剪纸作品合影留念。

一堂中西文化元素结合的剪纸文化课不仅让学生们提高了动手能力、加深了对中国剪纸文化的了解，更让师生们在寒冷的冬日感到了亲手制作的美好祝福带来的温暖的力量。