51 Buckingham Gate wishes you all a very Happy Chinese New Year!
London will celebrate the Chinese New Year and welcome the Year of the Dragon on Sunday, 29th January 2012. The New Year’s Parade will begin at 10am at Rupert Street and proceed around the West-end passing through Chinatown, Shaftsbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road, reaching its final destination of Trafalgar Square at 12 noon. The celebration in Trafalgar Square will feature cultural performances, music, dance, acrobatics and Chinese dragons, while Chinatown comes alive with lion dances and food stalls.
The grand finale will be the fireworks display at 5:40pm at Trafalgar Square. Don’t miss it if you are in London this weekend.
Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. In China, it is known as ‘Spring Festival’. It is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese calendar and it is celebrated throughout the world. The New Year is an occasion for family members to reunite and welcome the year ahead, with a variety of traditional food, customs, rituals and cultural activities.
Legends and mythology are a big part of Chinese culture, especially in relation to the Chinese Zodiac. The twelve animals that appear on the Chinese Zodiac calendar include a rat, buffalo (ox), tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. This year is the Chinese Year of the Dragon, which is considered to be more auspicious since its symbol – the dragon – is believed to be the most powerful of the twelve Chinese Zodiac elements. Those born under the Chinese Zodiac sign of the Dragon are energetic and warm-hearted, charismatic, lucky at love and natural leaders.
