Special Features - Chinese celebrate their New Year

Dragon procession, Chinese New Year. (c) Britainonview

Chinese celebrate their New Year
(08/02/08)

The Chinese community in the UK started celebrating their New Year on 7 February at private and public events, countrywide.

City celebrations

Some of the biggest will be in cities like London, Liverpool and Manchester.

London's Chinatown

London celebrations on Sunday 10 February - organised by the Chinatown Chinese Association - are centred round the Strand, Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square with parades, lion and dragon dances and fireworks.

In Manchester on the same day the Chinese community is laying on demonstrations of kung fu and a golden dragon parade; and Liverpool goes to town with special firecracker performances and tai chi demonstrations.

Lanterns in Trafalgar Square at Chinese New Year. (c) Britainonview

Celebrating tradition

Chinese New Year is a special time for the Chinese community in Britain. In the days leading up to the celebrations, people clean their houses, repay debts, buy new clothes and have their hair cut. A celebratory meal is held on the evening before with many traditional dishes served. Fireworks and firecrackers are also let off to see the new year in.

With the start of the holiday, Lion Dances go through the streets to bring good luck to the households and businesses they visit. The drums, gongs and cymbals that accompany the Dance are used to scare away evil and bad luck.

Chinese calendar

The Chinese calendar is based on the lunar year, so the New Year date changes annually. It follows a 12-year pattern with each year named after an animal in the Chinese zodiac. 2008 is the year of the Rat.

The story goes that Buddha invited all of the animals to join him for a New Year celebration, but only 12 turned up. To reward those that came, Buddha named a year after each of them in the order in which they arrived, starting with the Rat, followed by the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat (or Sheep), Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.

Where to find more information

For more information on Chinese New Year, go to the British Chinese Community website, Visit Britain Chinese New Year, and also Visit London which has details of London-based events and the best restaurants to go to.

For more about Chinese food and the part it plays in New Year, visit BBC Food. You can also pick up some delicious recipes when you are there!

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