An intercultural celebration to welcome the Year of the Dragon

Welcoming the Year of the Dragon with educational presentations, music, snacks and cultural activities.

On 8 February 2024 almost 100 staff, students and friends braved the snow to join the Business Confucius Institute's Chinese New Year celebrations. A diverse group of attendees enjoyed the festive atmosphere - which either reminded them of celebrations at home in China or gave them an immersive experience of traditions different from their own.

This celebratory event to welcome the Year of the Dragon featured talks about the culture and traditions associated with Chinese New Year as well as various activities. From listening to a wonderful guzheng performance to paper cutting and calligraphy, attendees could really experience the festive spirit of Chinese New Year!

The celebrations started off with a welcome from our Executive Director Professor Lynda Song, when she stressed how wonderful it is to see such a diverse public take interest in Lunar New Year celebrations.

Our Chinese instructors then took over and gave a presentation introducing the cultural practices that Chinese New Year features in different parts of China. From its traditional origins to must-have food on the day, they gave an insightful account of the different elements that make Chinese New Year an important celebration.

This was followed by a wonderful guzheng performance by Mio, a student from the School of Music, who played traditional tunes for us on this elegant instrument.

Our guests then had the opportunity to socialise and take part in cultural activities with the help of our Chinese instructors. Many people tried their hand at paper cutting while others showed us how talented they are at Chinese calligraphy, writing characters such as 福 (‘good fortune’) and 龍/龙 (‘dragon”) on red paper.

This event was a wonderful opportunity for everyone, Chinese and non-Chinese alike, to mingle and come together to celebrate this event. To add to the festive spirit, all our workshops were accompanied by Chinese snacks and tea that were familiar to our Chinese friends! We hope that they gave you a taste of home or maybe you discovered something new.

We were thrilled that so many of you decided to come together to celebrate the Year of the Dragon with us! As always, we look forward to hosting similar events in the future to get to know you and educate people about Chinese culture and traditions.