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Gung Hay Fat
Choy
TO all our Chinese
readers "Gung Hay Fat Choy", Wishing you good
fortune and happiness for the year to come. The new
Chinese year, in UK, began on 23 January 2012 and ends on 9
February 2013. We visited Liverpool's Chinatown, which happens
to be the oldest Chinatown established in
Europe, to see their start
of the New Year celebrations, on Sunday, 22 January 2012. Many
of the City's Chinese-residents and businesses, helped to
organise what was an amazing festival atmosphere, with lots of
activities for young and old. Sadly, due to the high winds, some
of the activities could not take place, but what did occur was
well worth the trip in to the City Centre to see. Ambrose
Reynolds, Artistic Director for Urban Strawberry Lunch (USL),
who created the special water dragon, which is around 3 metres
long and made of old lanterns, fake fur, huge pipe cleaners and
glitter balls, said:- "We love Chinese New Year. It’s one
of those rare times when the whole city can gather together to
celebrate. We’re really looking forward to people getting
involved with the Urban Water Dragon parade too; it’s our chance
to bring a bit of Dragon magic to Bold Street and have a bit of
fun at the same time!" The group, on the Sunday,
entertained the crowds with the Water Dragon, before the
spectacular lion, dragon and unicorn parade took place. With
around 15,000 people taking part in the festivities set against
the magnificent backdrop of Europe’s biggest Chinese Arch on
Nelson Street, this was a fantastic sight to see. But also the
sounds of the firecracker display could be heard all over the
City Centre. Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture
and Tourism, Councillor Wendy Simon, said:- "Chinese New
Year is one of the highlights of our events calendar and it’s
wonderful to see part of the city centre taken over by the
sights and smells of China! This year, we had Bold Street taking
part in the celebrations for the first time, which meant
thousands more people got to join together to wish the Chinese
community a healthy and happy new year."
We are adding video highlights of this event on Friday to the
website. But for now, please enjoy the photos by clicking on
HERE NOW!
Did you know???
According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2012 is the Year of
the Dragon, a creature of myth and legend. The Dragon is the 5th
sign of the Chinese Zodiac and represents an emperor and power.
Of all the 12 animal signs it is the ultimate auspicious symbol,
signifying success and happiness. The Dragon is not the most
domesticated of the animal signs. It is seen as all powerful and
totally unpredictable. In ancient China, texts from the Sung
Dynasty described the Dragon as usually clutching a pearl, a
symbolic sign of its super-natural powers. Invariably if seen,
it is said to be accompanied by thunder and rain. It says that
dragon moves like lightning and whirlwinds, and has the head of
an ox, muzzle of a donkey, eyes of a shrimp and horns of a deer.
Its body is described as having a serpent look, covered with
fish scales and with the feet of a phoenix! So could the
high winds and rain of 2012 symbolise its arrival? People
born in the Year of the Dragon like to be very charitable and
also they love to spend money. Many Dragon people will take big
chances with their finances. Yet, even if they fail, it is very
rare that they remain poor for long. This year’s element is
Water. In Chinese Taoism, the element water is representative of
intelligence and wisdom, flexibility, softness and pliancy. But
sadly, an over-abundance of the element is said to cause
difficulty in choosing something and sticking to it. This leads
to the negative emotions associated with water, fear and
anxiety, while the positive emotion is calmness. So what will
this year bring for us?
Dragon years are as follows:-
19/02/1904 to 03/02/1905 – element was Wood.
03/02/1916 to 22/01/1917 – element was Fire.
23/01/1928 to 09/02/1929 – element was Earth.
08/02/1940 to 26/01/1941 – element was Metal.
27/01/1952 to 13/02/1953 – element was Water.
13/02/1964 to 01/02/1965 – element was Wood.
31/01/1976 to 02/17/1977 – element was Fire.
17/02/1988 to 05/02/1989 – element was Earth.
05/02/2000 to 23/01/2001 – element was Metal.
23/01/2012 to 09/02/2013 – element is Water.
If you missed Liverpool's celebrations, head over to Neville
street, Southport on Saturday, 28 January and Saturday 4
February 2012 for a fantastic display of Kung fu and a South and
North Lion Dance demonstration out side and inside the Oriental
Garden Chinese Restaurant. Call:- 01704 544 033 for more
information!
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