18 Feb lunar new year
the lunar new year, or chinese new year, is the beginning of the lunar calendar and a time for new beginnings and fresh starts for everyone. to give us something to look forward to, for when worldwide events can reopen, we’ve picked the most gorgeous lunar new year celebrations that normally take place around the world.
singapore’s chingay
in a normal year, singapore hosts a kaleidoscopic street parade called chingay, which translates as ‘the art of costume and masquerade’. basically, it’s a massive street parade fitted out with dazzling floats, colourful costumes, live performances, intricate props, and pyrotechnics. ‘wow’ is the only fitting response.
shanghai’s yuyuan lantern festival
every year yuyuan gardens draws millions of visitors to shanghai for its world-class lantern display. the luminous creations come in all different shapes, sizes, and colours, depicting everything from fish (representing wealth and prosperity) to dragons (to represent good luck) – and, of course, rats. there’s even a series of lanterns scrawled with riddles and puns for those wanting to flex their brain muscles in front of friends and family.
la’s golden dragon parade
los angeles’s historic golden dragon parade, which brings floats, marching bands, costumes and crowds to north broadway, is 121 years old – making it even older than the hollywood sign. this year’s parade is cancelled irl, but it’s being replaced by an online celebration of culture, history, and tradition streamed via facebook live.
hanoi’s hoan kiem lake fireworks
hanoi welcomes tet (the vietnamese word for lunar new year) with firework shows across the nation’s capital. they span from lac long quan flower garden to van quan lake, but the biggest and brightest of these pyrotechnic displays is always at the central hoan kiem lake. kicking off at midnight, the fifteen-minute light show is preceded by music and art performances, as the festivities prepare revellers to bid farewell to the old year and all its bad luck.
if this is giving you inspiration to get started planning your own events, then please do get in touch by email info@sevenevents.co.uk or by phone 0207 659 4430