Chinese New Year Festivities

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With the first month of 2019 over, we can jump into February with Chinese New year, a wonderful celebration with a colourful parade, street food stalls, fun activities, and a line-up of special performances in Trafalgar Square. This year, Chinese New Year falls on 5 February, with the main Chinese New Year London festivities happening on the 10th February. So we still have a week before the celebrations truly start. As a brief explanation, The Chinese zodiac moves in a 12-year cycle and each year has a corresponding animal. This year it’s the Year of the Pig, which means people born in 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995 and 2007 are all ‘pigs.’ For example, this year is the ‘Earth Pig,’ meaning those born in this year will be good at socializing and maintaining relationships. So now you know what we’re celebrating this year around, let’s talk about the festivities.

All the fun in Trafalgar Square often starts with a beautiful thanksgiving ceremony with screen shows, firecrackers, speeches and the classic Lions’ Eye Dotting Ceremony.  The finale gets underway with a variety of showstopper performances and a spectacular pyrotechnic display, which lights up Trafalgar Square to mark the end of the Year of the Pig festivities. Watch colourful floats and more than 50 teams take part in the vibrant Chinese New Year parade, which usually kicks off with dragon and lion dances and handcrafted floats in Charing Cross Road, before snaking its way through Shaftesbury Avenue in Chinatown.

Next you can head down to Chinatown, where you’ll be able to get up close with the Chinese zodiac animals, then sit down for a traditional Chinese New Year meal and festive treats in one of Chinatown’s restaurants.You can sink your teeth into a pandan doughnut filled with coconut cream custard from Crosstown. If you’re vegan and hoping to enjoy the food too you can tuck into a vegan Chinese feast at Benk + Bo, featuring food by dynamic duo Phung Kay. Finally, if you’re looking to pick up some new skills you can learn new techniques to create your own flavoursome treats with the Cookery School’s dim sum workshop.

Another thing to mention is that In Chinese culture, to “climb high and gaze far” on New Year’s Day or the following day brings good luck in business, career, study and fortune. Another way to bring luck to your year, Chinese tradition dictates that you should buy something red for yourself or your house. You can dress up with a red scarf, jumper or shoes – this will bring good luck for the coming year.  London's Chinatown is a fantastic place for authentic Chinese shopping.

Hopefully you get the chance to enjoy all of the festivities with friends and family, try some amazing food, and get great pictures of all the parade and other events happening.

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