Year of
Red
Fire Monkey is here! Photographs by Patrick
Trollope.
ON Monday, 8 February 2016, it is
Chinese New Year, but celebrations in Liverpool started early, on Sunday, 7
February 2016. The Liverpool Chinese Business Association (LCBA),
who have been running the Chinese New Year annual event since 1994, have yet
again worked in partnership with Liverpool City Council to deliver a
fantastic public event. Marking the start of year 4713, Liverpool's China
Town was Merseyside's main focal point for many of the Chinese community's
cultural activities and traditional festivities, which included 1,000
Chinese lanterns, the spectacular dancing dragons and fire crackers, along
with Lion Dancers. Plus the event also had a series of street performances
and the popular Chinese market on Great George Street selling gifts,
souvenirs, along with mouth watering food. In the BlockE, the centre hosted
dancing, song and other activities, including a chance to photograph models
thanks to the newly formed Liverpool Chinatown Photographic Society (LCPS)
Also over at Fact, local groups put on music shows. Interestingly the LCPS
are holding a free to enter competition to that is open to all ages. The
winner will get a Fuji X-E1 with an 18mm to 55mm lenses, donated to the
group by
CambrianPhoto.Co.UK Click on
here to find out more information...
We would also love to see your photographs of this event. These are a few
photographs we have taken at what was quite possibly the busiest Chinese New
Year Event in Liverpool's Chinatown in recent years! Also as it is
Valentine's Day later this week, why not see if your lover is a match on the
Chinese Zodiac, by using our Chinese Zodiac Compatibility Game.... Click on
here now!
Click on
hereto
see our full photographic coverage of this event.
Did you know?
Dragon and Lion Dances are often confused, but they both play a major part
on part of traditional Chinese celebrations. Both are said to help bring
good luck and are used along with horns, drums, gongs and fire crackers to
frighten off the evil spirits.
The most photogenic and most seen of the 2 are the Lion Dances, who perform
by 'mimicking' a lion's movements in a lion costume. As they
dance they stop at a lettuce hanging on a string. Within it should be a
hidden red packet of 'money.' The lion eats the lettuce and
red packet. He then scatters lettuce leaves to symbolize a fresh start for
the New Year and the spreading of good luck. This is the type of dance we
normally see in restaurants as well as at events such as there are in
Liverpool.
The 2 main types of lion dance in China are the Northern and Southern Lions.
The Northern Lion normally has a gold painted wooden head and shaggy orange
and yellow hair with a red bow on its head to indicate a male lion, or a
green bow or green hair, to represent a female. The Southern Lion is
traditionally has a black beard and eyebrows, green nose and purple horns.
But additionally there are 3 important colours concerning the Lions. The
lion with the white colour fur is considered to be the oldest of the lions.
The lion with the goldish fur or the red fur is considered to be a middle
child. Not the youngest, nor the oldest. And the black colour lion is
considered to be the youngest lion. The black lions are the fastest dancers
and as the Lion is said to be the youngest, it should be a more playful
dance, with the animal acting more mischievously, as if it were a child.
The Dragon though is a far bigger dance and only tends to be seen in the UK
at large events, like in Liverpool. The Dragon normally has golden and
silver colours symbolizing prosperity, and red denote the excitement and
good fortune of the festivities. It is normally lead around by a large stick
with a ball on it. The ball being chased is a representation of the flaming
pearl of wisdom and truth...
A few of you might have spotted a green costume, which looks like the Lion.
This is the Qilin or Chinese Unicorn, and is the most important of the 4
sacred animals for the New Year Festivities. The costume is green and it's a
ritual dance that is very is similar to the more commonly seen Lion Dance.
Just as the Lion Dance, the Unicorn is also thought to bring good luck but
it can also be used to conduct martial exorcisms!
Click on
hereto
see our full photographic coverage of this event.
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