LONDON: Tens of thousands of people have turned out to see colourful dancing dragons help celebrate the Chinese New Year across the UK.
In London they were treated to a blaze of red and gold with elaborate costumes, awakening lion dancing, Chinese performers, street food stalls plus Chinese arts and crafts as the city’s Chinatown hosted a day of family-friendly activities.
Peter Yick Kuen Lam, president of the London Chinatown Chinese Association (LCCA) which organised the festival that welcomed the Year of the Dragon, said: “It is very important for us. Chinese New Year is just like Christmas.
“It is a very special event for the Chinese community and a chance for us to have a good cultural exchange.“We can share our joyfulness with everyone. It is a chance to celebrate.
He added: “Today is a special day for gathering.“It is all red because red is a lucky colour, it is all red and gold.“I hope it will give everyone happiness and the start to a prosperous new year. Peace and happiness is especially important.”
More than 500,000 people are expected to enjoy the day’s celebrations, the organisers say.A traditional parade, complete with dragons, swirling dancers and handcrafted floats, kicked off the dizzying array of events in central London and its Chinatown neighbourhood.
There were leaping acrobats dressed in elaborate dragon costumes, music and a dramatic electric firecracker display.Some lucky children were seen clutching toy dragons and gold balloons while many visitors were given red packages (in the form of red envelopes) as a symbol of good fortune.