World rings in Chinese New Year
Major cities across the globe, from Melbourne and Jakarta to New York and London, usher in Year of the Rabbit with gaiety
As the Year of the Rabbit arrived on Jan 22, people across the world, including in the United States, Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia, embraced Chinese New Year festivities.
In the United States many people celebrated the Lunar New Year, with one of the highlights being a special tribute by China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang at an NBA game in Washington.
Qin made the video appearance on the eve of Chinese New Year during halftime of the basketball game between the Washington Wizards and the Orlando Magic. In his speech, Qin said the Year of the Rabbit symbolizes kindness, grace and beauty.
“Last December, I was here at Capital One Arena as Chinese ambassador. I spent a wonderful evening watching a fabulous game by the Washington Wizards. Today I am glad to join you again in celebrating the Chinese New Year,” Qin told the audience.
The halftime break also featured Chinese performances. Children of the Chinese embassy staff appeared as panda mascots to entertain the audience and threw stuffed toy rabbits to cheers from the audience.
Across the country, on the West Coast, Chinese performances were also featured during halftime of the NBA game between San Francisco’s Golden State Warriors and the Brooklyn Nets.
Chinatown in San Francisco displayed spectacular fireworks. Mixed with lion dances, the celebration lasted five hours until midnight. The celebration attracted many non-Asians to enjoy the revelry.
In Los Angeles, Disney kicked off its Lunar New Year celebrations on Jan 20 with an assortment of activities that will continue until Feb 15.
For the first time in the state’s history, Lunar New Year was an official holiday in California. Governor Gavin
Newsom signed the bill, that “acknowledges the diversity and cultural significance Asian Americans bring to California”, into law in September 2022.
Fireworks were also big in New York, which kicked off celebrations with a host of cultural and artistic events for the Year of the Rabbit. Thousands of people gathered to watch the Manhattan skyline light up with fireworks at Sara D. Roosevelt Park on Jan 22.
On Jan 31, the New York Philharmonic presented a Lunar New Year concert.
In a culmination of festivities, thousands are expected to attend the Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade and Festival on Feb 12.
Meanwhile, the Chinese New Year was celebrated in a number of western and northern European nations. In the central Belgian city of Namur, hundreds of people participated in the festivities, which included traditional dances and other cultural performances
on Jan 28.
Organized by the Federation of Chinese Communities in Belgium, visitors experienced a wide range of
Chinese culture and folklore, including painting and calligraphy, tai chi, traditional Chinese medicine, lion dances and lanterns.
For Elise Boucher, a 23-year-old Belgian student at the University of Mons, the idea of celebrating Chinese New Year in Namur was incredible. “I discovered the gastronomy, the Chinese liquor, and there is something for everyone,” she said.
In the United Kingdom, Lunar New Year celebrations took place in all major cities including London, Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh.
In Australia, lion dances heated up the festive mood in Melbourne’s Chinatown, and a memory-keeper of Australia’s Chinese community offered a tranquil corner for visitors to explore histories, traditions, mythical stories and mouthwatering cuisines related to Spring Festival.
This year, the Museum of Chinese Australian History held a Lucky Rabbit temporary exhibition to observe Lunar New Year. It will run until March 14.
In Southeast Asia, there were widespread festivities among the Chinese communities and beyond as people ushered in the Lunar New Year.
Indonesia was among the hot spots as people there welcomed the return of lively festivities after three years of subdued celebrations because of the pandemic.
The district of Glodok, known as Jakarta’s Chinatown, was especially busy with Indonesians flocking to the area to buy lanterns, new clothes, incense and fruit baskets for the Year of the Rabbit. Chinese Indonesians held family reunions and gave red envelopes to family and friends.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo sent his greetings to the ethnic Chinese community. On social media, Widodo wrote: “Times changed, years passed, and challenges may change. But one thing that should always stay is hope that tomorrow will be a happier, more prosperous and more developed time.”
Chinese New Year, known locally as Imlek, is among the major festivals in the multiethnic nation. Ethnic Chinese account for roughly 5 percent of Indonesia’s 273 million population. Since the first day of Chinese New Year fell on Jan 22, a Sunday, Jan 23 was declared a public holiday in Indonesia.
Siang Hadi Widjaja, a Jakarta-based business owner, welcomed the return of the more “upbeat” Chinese New Year celebrations. He said the celebrations are good for the economy as they have boosted demand for food, souvenirs and home decorations. Performances like the barongsai (lion dance) parade also attract tourists.
Church services were held across the country, with the homily delivered in Mandarin and the Holy Mass concluded with the distribution of oranges among the churchgoers.
In Binondo district in the Philippine capital Manila, the local community decorated the streets with red lanterns, while stores were offering boxes of nian gao (known by most Filipinos as tikoy) as this sweet rice cake is usually served in parties and given as gifts.
While Binondo, known as Manila’s Chinatown, remains the main venue for festivities, the Lunar New Year celebrations in the Philippines extend beyond the Chinese-Filipino community, Lourdes Tanhueco Nepomuceno, director of the Confucius Institute-University of the Philippines in Diliman, said.
“The Chinese culture in the Philippines impacts the lives of the majority of Filipinos,” Nepomuceno said.
In a video message sent to a celebration held by the Chinese embassy in the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said the Chinese New Year celebration can serve as “an opportunity to look into our cultural and historical richness as a people and to strengthen the ties that bind us as a nation”.
Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Jan 19 attended a Chinese New Year celebration in Ratchaburi province. Various performances, from dragon and lion dances, Chinese instrumental music and Teochew opera, to painting and pastry-making, brought the venue to life.
Earlier, Bangkok’s Chinatown turned brighter, colorful and festive from the evening of Jan 16 following the New Year Light-up Ceremony at the Royal Jubilee Gate, which marked the start of the city’s celebrations for Chinese Lunar New Year.