I do love celebrating Chinese New Year because of the noise and colour that comes with it, and also because it lasts for 14 days. Imagine having such a long public holiday!
This Chinese New Year will start on 23rd January and 2012 will see the year of the dragon. According to Chinese astrologists, the year will be marked by excitement, unpredictability, exhilaration and intensity. Hmm doesn’t sound so good, better get those knocking cats out for luck.
Last year we went out to China town to see London’s version of the celebrations and were lucky enough to snap a video of the dragon dance. The video shows the dragon going from one shop to another within China town, accepting their offerings (normally cabbages because that’s what dragons eat of course) that were suspended from the top of door posts. The dragon dance is suppose to bring prosperity for the businesses.
There were lots of street food vendors milling about; some selling authentic Chinese Mantou, others seem to be seizing the event as an opportunity to make money. Lucky for them the event was packed with people and many were queueing for at least 2 hours at dim sum restaurants. It’s definitely an experience but would advice going outside of China town for food!
