SARAJEVO, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Children living in Banja Luka, a city 190 kilometers northwest of the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), had the opportunity to learn the art of Chinese paper cutting on Saturday.

The workshop was organized by the Confucius Institute and the Museum of Republika Srpska on the occasion of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Children learned to write Chinese New Year greetings and best wishes in the Chinese language.

"We have had two workshops of paper cutting in February. Children love it!" said Ljiljana Stevic, director of Confucius Institute in Banja Luka.

Children learned how paper cutting, as a skill of creating images and decorations, originated in China during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), and that the cut pictures and paper would be placed on windows and doors of people's houses for good luck and to protect them from evil.

According to the tradition, decorations bring happiness, prosperity and wealth, which is why the paper decorations are made with the most beautiful wishes and are placed in homes.