As many will have already have noticed, Manchester’s city centre streets have already been adorned with thousands of red lanterns to mark this special occasion. Next week, Lunar New Year celebrations will mark the annual celebration in Manchester, which this year falls on Wednesday (January 29) with celebrations taking place until 12th February.
Here in Brunswick, organised by Diverz, there will be our own celebration events. There will be a board games night and community art workshops. Full details in this flyer with details of how to join in the festivities.
On February 1 and 2, Manchester’s Chinatown will host a weekend of festivities including the much-loved dragon parade. The city centre district will be transformed into a festive wonderland with red lanterns, music, performances and family-friendly activities throughout the two days to celebrate the official start of the Year of the Snake. The event is also known as Spring Festival and as Lunar New Year to other Far Eastern countries.
When is Lunar New Year?
The date of the Lunar New Year differs every year. In 2025 it occurs on 29 January and is the year of the Snake. The snake is the symbol of wisdom and transformation, so, this is a good year to get into a new hobby or learn a new skill!
In many cultures, each year is also associated with an animal from the zodiac. Often the animals are the same across different Asian countries, including China, South Korea, North Korea, Singapore and Cambodia. This system for naming years has been in use for about the last 2000 years, but traditionally dates back to 2637 BC when the calendar was supposed to have been invented. For the little ones, here’s some great information from CBBC
For more information or if you’d like to share your Lunar story, please get in touch. We’ll be doing a special feature in our spring newsletter, so we’d love to hear from you if you’d like to be included. Send a WhatsApp message to 07500 065 270, email info@s4bmanchester.co.uk, visit the S4B housing office, or give us a call on 0300 555 0128.