Year of the Tiger: Celebrating Chinese Lunar New Year 2022 around the world

Monday, January 31, 2022

On 1^st February, Chinese people all around the world will be celebrating Lunar Chinese New Year – 2022 is the Year of the Tiger. But it’s not just China that hosts this incredible extravaganza to mark the start of a new lunar year. This year, China is still running on COVID-19 pandemic, but most of the Chinese are travelling to their own hometowns for the Lunar New Year 2022, the country’s biggest family holiday, despite Chinese government plea to stay where they are as Beijing tries to contain coronavirus outbreaks. Beijing recorded its highest number of new Covid-19 cases for a year and a half on Sunday, as the Chinese capital gears up to host the Winter Olympics in five days.

So this article guides you with some of the best places to celebrate 2022 Lunar Chinese New Year around the world.  

Korea

The celebration of Lunar New Year in Korea is one of the most significant traditional holidays. In Korea, the Chinese Lunar New Year is offering a chance to pay respect to your ancestors and elders. This is a three-day celebration, and everyone ages one year at the start of the Lunar New Year celebrations.

Vietnam

In Vietnam, the Chinese Lunar New Year is also known as Tết. This is celebrated with family. Food, like bánh tét (log-like cylinder) and bánh chưng (square) sticky rice cakes, plays a vital role in the celebrations. Bánh chưng is preferred in northern Vietnam, where it’s fried with a little oil for a steamed version. Other dishes include củ kiệu (pickled scallion), tom kho (dried shrimp) and mut tet (candied fruits). Vietnam has its own traditional costume — the áo dài. It is a silk tunic with slits on either side that’s worn over pants by both men and women. But on Lunar New Year, women usually wear it. Children receive red envelopes with money from their older relatives, too.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, the Chinese Lunar New Year is seen as the welcoming of spring and a chance for families to come together for an annual reunion dinner. The holiday lasts for 15 days, and then Chap Goh Mei is celebrated. Yee sang is a salad dish that can be found at almost every table, as it represents good luck and prosperity. Nián gāo, a Chinese New Year’s cake made with rice flour, is also popular during the Lunar New Year. Mandarin oranges symbolize good luck, while red pocket envelopes (known as ang pow) are given to children and unmarried family members. Many Buddhist families invite lion dancers to their homes to bless their altars and ward off bad spirits, too. Traditional outfits are called cheongsam (also known as qipao) are worn in red. They also say if you’re celebrating your zodiac year, you must wear the color gold to attract even more abundance for the year.

Taiwan

In Taiwan, here most people go home to celebrate the New Year with their families. It’s another country that strongly associates the holiday with food. Nian gao (dumplings) is the most popular dish, closely followed by pineapple. It’s considered good luck to not eat all the fish and keep some leftovers from your holiday meals. Most Taiwanese people spend time with their family and elders in their homes. They also exchange red envelopes during the holiday, and many neighborhoods set off firework displays.

Philippines

The most traditional celebration of the 2022 Chinese Lunar New Year is called Media Noche, where Filipino families come together for a midnight feast to celebrate a year of prosperity ahead. The table is usually full of round-shaped fruits — a tradition that originates from China — as the shape represents good fortune. The food that’s typically eaten during Lunar New Year in the Philippines includes sticky rice dishes, such as biko, bibingka, and nian gao, since it’s believed to help bind families together. Pancit (long noodles) is also enjoyed to help bring a healthy, long life and good luck for the year ahead.

London, United Kingdom

London is home to the largest Chinese New Year celebrations outside of Asia and is an exciting destination to explore at this time of year. Here you can watch the parade that snakes from Chinatown to London’s West End, catch a dragon or lion dance performance and tuck into some delicious Chinese foods on offer.

San Francisco, USA

If you’re looking for somewhere to celebrate Lunar Chinese New Year whilst in the USA, you may want to head straight for San Francisco. The city hosts the largest Chinese New Year’s celebration in North America. This Lunar Chinese New year celebration celebrates by over 3 million people watching the parade each year. As well as the huge parade, there are also smaller events taking place too. These include the Chinatown YMCA Run, the Flower Market Fair in Chinatown plus a community street fair.

Bangkok, Thailand

If you happen to be in Thailand during Chinese New Year, head to Chinatown (Yaowarat) to celebrate! Similar to the other global cities mentioned, there will be street performers in the shape of lion dancers and drummers. And once celebrations for the lunar year are finished you can jump straight into Bangkok’s Lantern Festival too!

Singapore

Singapore is an unbelievable place to celebrate Chinese New Year, with a packed schedule of parades, festivals and carnivals. Here Chinatown will, of course, be the centre point for the celebrations, with a whopping five events taking place, including a lion dance competition, the Festive Street Bazaar and the huge Chingay Parade. Here the Universal Studios Singapore is also getting in on the act too.

Abu Dhabi, UAE

Abu Dhabi celebrates Chinese Lunar New Year with gala events. The Waterfront Promenade at Al Maryah Island will transform into a celebration of Chinese New Year with themed activities, workshops and performances, as well as a spectacular choreographed fireworks display on February 1.

Australia, Sydney

Australia has strong ties with the Chinese culture from bygone days. Here the Chinese citizens will be immensely celebrated during the Spring Festival, especially in Sydney. The visitors will be able to watch a Dragon Boat Races in Darling Harbour where 12-metre-long boats, housing up to 20 paddlers each, battle it out to beating drums. To honor this year’s animal, a spectacular Pig lantern will light up the western boardwalk of the Sydney Opera House from February 1st.

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