by Ian Farquharson

Created on: December 15, 2009

A Guide to Chinese New Year Events in the UK

Chinese New Year will be celebrated on February 14th in 2010 and it will bring to an end the year of the ox and usher in the year of the tiger. There are many Chinese populations all over the world who will celebrate the New Year and many events will be planned to mark the event. There is a large Chinese community in the UK, especially in the London and Manchester areas and a number of events are planned around the country. Some of these include the following.

London

Traditionally the London Chinatown Chinese Association holds its celebrations on the first Sunday after New Year and it has a number of events planned for the 21 January to herald the year of the tiger. These are to take place in Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and Chinatown itself. In Trafalgar Square there will be an official ceremony followed by performances by groups of Chinese acrobats, dancers and musicians. There will also be a party atmosphere in Chinatown and this will include lion dance displays, market stalls and Chinese food. A stage will also be set up on Shaftesbury Avenue for Chinese dancers. The festivities will conclude with a fireworks display in Leicester Square.

Manchester

Manchester has one of the largest Chinese communities in the UK and the celebrations in this city are centered around the Chinatown area which is bordered by York Street, Portland Street, Oxford Street and Mosely Street. Each year the coming of the New Year is celebrated by a parade and festival in the area of Albert Square and Faulkner Street which ends up in Chinatown itself. The 2010 event is to be staged on the 14 February and will include traditional lion dances, martial arts display, market stalls, food vendors and a fireworks display.

Birmingham

The Chinese New Year festivities in Birmingham are held in the Arcadian complex which is located in the Chinatown area of the city. This year's event is to be held on the 14 February from 12 noon until 4.30 in the evening. The event will include Chinese singers and acrobats, martial arts and Chinese Dragon dance. One of the streets nearby, Hurst Street will be closed to vehicles for the day and will feature a number of market stalls displaying Chinese goods and also many types of Chinese food. Pedestrians will be able to enjoy a relaxing day enjoying some Chinese delicacies and buy some traditional Chinese wares.

Liverpool

Liverpool is the twin city of Shanghai in China and is planning events for the 21 February which will be staged around the Chinese Arch on Nelson Street. This is traditionally where these festivities are held and the arch is believed to be one of the biggest outside of China. The celebrations will include traditional dancing dragons, unicorns and lions and Tai Chi demonstrations. There will also be food and market stalls to enjoy with the event starting at 11.00am in the morning and running for most of the day.

With many Chinese populations located in cities all over the world, celebrations for Chinese New year are held in many countries. These are colorful, noisy and fun and a number of the bigger cities in the United Kingdom will be holding special events to celebrate the Year of the Tiger which will be ushered in on 14 February 2010. One of the events mentioned above will make for a great day out and at these you can enjoy much of the fine culture, food and entertainment that the Chinese have to offer. If you can attend one of these it is well worth doing.

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