| Where: | Countrywide especially in cities with a sizeable population of Asian heritage |
| When: | Sunday nearest Lunar New Year(late January to late February) |
| Time: | All day (Newcastle event 10am-4pm) |
Many major cities in the UK celebrate Lunar New Year, including Newcastle upon Tyne which is my nearest venue; it’s one of the most widespread cultural festivals in the world with origins literally thousands of years ago. The name has recently been commonly amended from Chinese New Year in recognition that the festival is more widely celebrated than just in China itself, and that it is timed by the phases of the moon. Expect firecrackers, Lion and Dragon dances, music,parades, lanterns and seasonal foods. The dragons bring prosperity for the coming year; the way they move echoes the movement of the river spirit as it rises , falls and undulates and the origins of the dance lie in a fertility rite for the harvest. Noodles symbolise long life, so don’t cut them; spring rolls represent wealth, and oranges and lettuce are for luck. Another popular speciality is the tea-egg, a hard-boiled egg which has the shell cracked all over before it is soaked in tea which dyes the egg inside giving it a mottled appearance. In Newcastle the celebrations are usually on the nearest Sunday from 11 am; the crowds are huge, and now include a parade with lions, dragons, dancers, flags, drumming and firecrackers. There are marquees with crafts for children, numerous stalls and a small funfair. Wear red for luck and to ward off evil spirits!
Helpful Hints
Because it is based upon the Lunar cycle, the date of the New Year varies from late January to late February.
In 2027 Lunar New Year falls on Saturday 6th February and it will be the Year of the Fire Goat. The Newcastle celebrations should take place at Greys’s Monument, at Stowell Street, the Chinese Arch and nearby locations- in 2027 they should be on Sunday 7th February (to be confirmed). Many places celebrate the Lunar New Year on a weekend and the festivities are very popular with families with plenty to see- get there early if you want a decent view.
Click here for the Chinatown Newcastle Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/newcastlechinatown/?hc_location=ufi
For more info click here : http://www.theholidayspot.com/chinese_new_year/
View this location on the map.
G’Day! Calendarcustoms,
Along the same lines, Chinese New Year is also known as the Spring Festival and is the oldest and most important festival to the Chinese community. The actual date of the holiday is determined by the lunar calendar and because of this cycle, it varies around late January to mid-February.
Wishes
I went to see the Chinese New Year celebrated in London yesterday. Trafalgar Square had been taken over for the festivities; there was a stage, stalls, masses of lanterns, and some fantastic Chinese performers. Chinatown is a few minutes walk away, and it was buzzing too. I could hear the dragon dances, but couldn’t get close enough to watch. It was a briliant day – but cold…
Thank you for actually printing the date for the Newcastle festivities – yours is the only website that I found that actually listed the date. Thanks Averil 🙂 Hopefully my little girl will be going along again this year to be scared by dragons and eat Chinese with her dad.
Thanks Caroline! It took some hunting out even though I saw the date printed on the back of a printed brochure about the winter festivities in town at a friend’s house in early November – why it’s been so hard to find online, I can’t imagine as obviously people knew long ago. It’s a great day out – ‘specially when the dragons and lions start hurling lettuce around!!
Averil
There was a whole family of Chinese dragons dancing in the Town Square in Woking, Surrey, last Saturday – great fun!
Although it’s the year (2016) of the Monkey, it’s actually the year of the “Fire Monkey”…..
James
Sounds even better!
🙂
Averil
Good luck for Chinese new year 2020