Chinese New Year
The Chinese immigrants brought the Chinese New Year celebration into Manchester China town.
It has become the most important Festival of our city.
We choose the first Sunday after the New Year day to celebrate in China Town.
Set it off firecrackers and Dragon Dance at the Manchester Town Hall are the favourite activity of children in the Spring Festival.
According to legend, this could drive off evil spirits.
The continuous sound of Dragon Dance and music, move toward China town, can be heard everywhere, adding to the atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity.
Local people come to join the Festival at China town.
The wonderful dragon lantern dance and the lion dance, Chinese show on the big stage at the heart of China town in the car park.
Along with various stands selling Chinese arts and crafts, which attract thousands of people.
The Chinese New Year Festival has become a global celebration. With the development of the time, some changes have taken place in the customs of spending the Spring Festival. Some cities like to prevent environment pollution, have banned firecrackers, but this does not affect Manchester city.
We managed to contact Andrew Yu, he was the Chinese New Year organiser in the 70s -80s, who said:
"When I was the organiser of the Chinese New Year celebration in China town was friendly and fun atmosphere. You can see people are sharing food and party in the street like a big family. It seems more like big street party in China; local community got on stage sing and dance. They are not professional performers; but full of community sense of belonging. Recently, the Chinese New Year has become too commercial and westernizes, It has been losing the original Chinese characterise of New Year and no more community atmosphere feeling. Nowadays, organiser employed professional performers to run whole show. It is much easier to manage, but just so distant away from local people."Mr. Lo, Chinese New Year organiser in 1980s and 2000s, he said
"In the old days, people gathering together in Chinatown talk and party; but now people don’t talk. The market stand becomes too commercial. Sell and make money, just like the entire event in UK. It has losing the Chinese tradition of street party mood. That is why not lots of Chinese community don’t join in. No personality! In fact nowadays Manchester Chinese New year event is for westerner more then Chinese."For some Manchester Chinese Community New Year eve is more important then any street party. New Year's Eve is the time for happy reunion of all family members, when they sit around the table to have sumptuous New Year’s Eve dinner, talking and laughing until daybreak, which is called" staying up to see the year out". When the clock ticks midnight on New Year Eve, people eat dumplings. Some of the Chinese like fully dressed up for midnight visit in the Chinese Buddhist temple. This is the blessing and fortunate telling could last for the whole year start from first hour of the New Year. The temple visit becomes very important part of Chinese custom in Manchester. But for the people who work in the catering business as usual.
"The Chinese New Year Parade should involve the local people and children. Chinese New Year is no longer for the Chinese Community only." Said Jenny Wong, "The Manchester City Council should develop this event to mainstream school. Our Manchester Chinese Centre has been working with mainstream school for years with language and Chinese workshops. The Local children love to create their own music and build their own dragon. We should encourage wider Communities or schools to bring their dragons in our street and join Manchester Chinese New Year event. Make it for community celebration."
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Lantern Festival
The traditional lantern festival (yuanxiao in Chinese) is not very popular in Manchester. It was lack off promotion; also because it is too close to the Chinese New year. The name comes from the fact that first lunar month is also called Yuanyue and xiao means night. The night of the 15th day of the first lunar month marks the appearance of the first full moon.It’s a tradition to admire lanterns at the festival. The custom started from the Han Dynasty, and has a history of more than 2,000 years. Chinese immigrants brought the Lantern Festival to Manchester; but not local people know this festival. Nowadays, Manchester Chinese community celebrate Lantern Festival is mainly for children as Achievement night event.
The Manchester Chinese Centre Lantern Festival is always encourage the children create their own lantern and enter for the competition. As night falls in cold Feb night, children carry their lantern crowd round to admire each other’s colourful lanterns. One of the most exciting lanterns is the sky lantern. It has created wonderful atmosphere. Lanterns come into all different shapes and forms. Some lanterns have riddles on them, which encourage people to compete to find the answer.
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Ching Ming Festival
Ching Ming pure brightness day, one of the 24 seasonal division points, is also an ancient tradition festival in china. It falls in the third lunar month or around April 5th in the solar calendar, when the spring scene is radiant and enchanting and the air is clean – hence, its name. On that day, Chinese people have the custom to sweep and clean a grave, offer sacrifices to ancestors, take an outing in the countryside.As the Chinese have the tradition to respect the aged, and cherish the memory of their forefathers and respect them. The Manchester Chinese community have carried on with their tradition in Manchester Southern Cemetery, Chorlton. Chinese community will clean their ancestor tombs, burn incense and offer food and paper coins, paper clothes to show their remembrance and respect for their ancestors.
Dragon Boat Festival
The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is a traditional Chinese Folk Festival- the Dragon Boat Festival. On that people make Zongzi wrap with bamboo leaf and join the water sport dragon boat race.
Zongzi comes in different forms and shapes depend on their province.
The Manchester Dragon Boat Race was formed about 6 years ago by Mr. Kin. Every year they hold a dragon boat race in August at Salford water sports club. It has bringing about 4,000-5,000 people together as sport charity event.
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The Mid Autumn Festival
The 15th day of the eight lunar month is China's traditional Mid-Autumn Festival. China’s Autumn is fine, cool and the moon at night seems particularly bright. People consider the full moon as the symbol of reunion and satisfaction, the festival is also called "the Festival for reunion". According to traditional custom, Chinese family reunion together enjoy fruit and moon cakes while admiring the moon after eight months of hard work. The moon cake has varieties and production methods different from place to place. There are sweet, salty, meat and nuts fillings. It is carved with various patterns and words. From the taste of the Moon Cake could tell where this person come from; therefore Moon Cake could easy make people feel homesick. We fund 2 Moon Cake tins from the 70s in China town. That was the Moon Cake from far away homeland. Nowadays, in August the Chinese market starts selling Moon Cake. The Chinese community will be very busy buying Moon Cake for friend and family.The Manchester Community celebrate Mid Autumn Festival in China town car park organised by the Lion Club.
