MUSEUMS in Oxford are staging half-term events to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

The Story Museum in Pembroke Street is today hosting a series of events for children between 1pm and 5pm.

Activities include drawing sessions, making lanterns and dragon dancing.

Museum staff are hosting a free session, with Snowflake Books, to celebrate the Year of the Dog.

Youngsters will also be able to learn how to become a Jade Emperor, say Happy New Year in Mandarin, and take part in facepainting, and other crafts.

There will also be Chinese New Year sessions at the Ashmolean Museum in Beaumont Street tomorrow and on Sunday, from noon until 4pm, as part of the attraction’s China Festival.

The Chinese zodiac moves in a 12-year cycle, and those born in 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, and 2018 are also known as Dogs.

The 2018 Chinese New Year starts today and there will be celebrations over the next fortnight.

Chinese New Year takes place on a different date each year, because it is based on the lunar calendar.

New Year’s Day normally falls between January 21 and February 20.

Chinese families gather together for a dinner on New Year’s Eve, and clean their homes to get rid of bad luck on New Year’s Day.

As part of the traditions children are given red envelopes stuffed with ‘lucky money’.

Now some teenagers have red envelope apps so their relatives can transfer cash digitally.