YEAR OF THE DRAGON

Chinese Year 2012 (23 January 2012 – 9 February 2013) is the Year of Dragon

The first day of Chinese New Year 2012 (Chun Jie / 春节 2012) will be celebrated on Monday, 23 January 2012, and the festival will usually last for as long as 15 days, till the 6 February 2012.
Chinese Zodiac
Chinese Zodiac (Chinese: 生肖 / Sheng xiao ) relates each chinese calendar year to an animal, based on a 12-year cycle. It is a widely popular system used informally in many Asian countries, including China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.
Chinese New Year is the most important traditional Chinese holiday. It’s a day full of celebration and feasting.
Dragon years are usually the most popular to have babies. There are more babies born in Dragon years than in any other animal years of the Zodiac.

Chinese New Year in London

For residents of London, January 29th is the big day for the celebrations to welcome in the Year of the Dragon. Head to Chinatown and Shaftesbury Avenue (central London's big event traditionally takes place on the first Sunday after the official start of the Chinese New Year, which in 2012 is on January 23).
Festivities begin at 10.15am with a parade of colourful floats from Trafalgar Square to Rupert Street. At noon, Boris Johnson and Chinatown president Stanley Tse commence the Dotting of the Eye ceremony, kick-starting an afternoon of performances featuring music, dance, Chinese dragons, lions and acrobatics. The show culminates in a fireworks display at 5.40pm. As well as all this, Chinatown will be filled with cultural and food stalls and displays all day.
You can also mark Chinese New Year at BFI Southbank for the showing four films that cast new light on China and Chinese cultural and history. With four Chinese films being screened to mark the start of the Year of the Dragon, fans of world cinema will have plenty to celebrate for Chinese New Year at BFI Southbank. Screenings take place starting 04 Feb 2012 - 25 Feb 2012. For more information visit www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/bfi_southbank/events/chinese_new_year
For a round-up of London Chinese New Year Events and recommended Chinatown restaurants, see www.timeout.com/chinese-new-year

Chinese New Year Celebrations around the world

To the Chinese communities, Chinese New Year is the biggest annual event, where families would gather for reunion dinner and friends would be visiting each other. Markets will be abuzz with activities and many beautiful ornaments weeks prior to the festival.
There are many traditions and customs associated with the Chinese New Year, which begins on the first new moon of the lunar New Year and ends two weeks later with the full moon.
The first day of the Chinese New Year Celebrations is reserved for family and the last day is marked with the Lantern Festival and an elaborate Dragon Dance, but the days in between are also marked with tradition.
Day 1
Families gather together to honour ancestors and to welcome the gods of earth and of the heavens. People come from all over the world to reunite with their families, making this important Chinese holiday the cause of the largest annual human migration.
Day 2
Many Chinese will pray to ancestors and all the gods on this day. And because this day is also recognized as the birthday of all dogs, many will be especially kind and generous to the canines they encounter.
Day 3 & 4
On these days husbands are to escort their wives to her parent’s home. Once there, the sons-in-law are to show special respect to their in-laws. It was once common for in-laws to present the couple with two lotus lanterns – one white and the other red. After returning home the couple would light and hang the lanterns by their bed. If the candle in the white lantern burned out first the couple would have a baby boy. If the candle in the red lantern burned first the couple would have a baby girl.
Day 5
Traditionally people stay home on this day, which is known as Po Woo and is set aside as a day to welcome in the God of Wealth. Visiting family and friends on this day is believed to bring bad luck.
Days 6 to 12
During this part of the two week holiday the Chinese will visit family and friends and many will pray at local temples. Red envelopes called lai see are given out regularly throughout the New Year’s holiday. When arriving as a guest to the home of family or friends, it is common to bring a small gift for the host. This could be candy or even a bag of oranges or tangerines. A lai see filled with a new bill of “lucky money” should be placed inside the bag of citrus.
Day 13
Due to all the feasting of rich foods, many Chinese will eat a simple meal of rice congee and mustard greens (choi sum) which are known to cleanse the body.
Day 14
This day is used to prepare for the Lantern Festival which takes place the next evening.
Day 15
One of the most well-known traditions and customs of the Chinese New Year is the New Year’s Parade which features the Lantern Festival and the much anticipated Dragon Dance.
You traditionally get red envelopes (hong bao) on Chinese New Year from your relatives and parents. Young children receive them from their parents and relatives and typically, once you move out, get married, or have a job, that’s when you return the favor and give your parents a red envelope. The red symbolizes good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits. The amount of money inside is typically generous and traditionally, it should end in an even number, an odd number is bad.