Chinese New Year celebrations in China Town, London, 18th Feb 2007 Oliver Knight
, The Chinese New Year festival and parade in central London to mark the start of the Year of the Pig took place on Sunday 18 February parade started at 11am in the Strand and went along Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue. In Trafalgar Square there were dragon and lion dances, the best of traditional and contemporary Chinese arts and entertainments including visiting artists from Guizhou province in China. This was followed by a fireworks displays at 2pm and 5pm in Leicester Square. This annual event is organised by the London Chinatown Chinese Association. Chinese New Year is the biggest festival of the year in Chinese communities. As it is based on the lunar and solar calendars, the date varies from late January to New Year is the biggest festival of the year in Chinese communities and is sometimes known as the Spring festival. As it is based on the lunar and solar calendars, the date varies from late January to is the Year of the Dog, and 2007 will be the Year of the Pig. Each year in the Chinese calendar is represented by one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac: the Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig, Rat, Ox, Tiger and Rabbit. In the days leading up to the Chinese New Year, people clean their houses, repay debts, buy new clothes and have their hair cut. A celebratory meal is held on the eve of the new year, with many traditional dishes served, and fireworks and firecrackers are let off to see in the new the start of the new year, Lion Dances pass through the streets to bring good luck to the households and businesses they visit. The drums, gongs and cymbals that accompany the Lion Dance are used to scare away evil and bad luck. celebrate tradition community diversity china chinese custom crowd gather spectate spectacle lantern red luck banner symbol symbolism gather soho gerrard street traditional custom dragon processio
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Photo credit: © Oliver Knight / Alamy / Afripics
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