Karaoke on top of the Harbour Bridge, tales of legends in the Chinese Garden of Friendship and endless amounts of delicious food, Sydney is bringing in the Year of the Sheep in style.
Officially commencing among the Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors at Dawes Point on Friday and running through new year on February 19 and until March 1, Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore said the 2015 Chinese New Year Festival celebrating the Year of the Sheep will being our streets to life.
"Its developed into the most significant celebration for Chinese New Year outside Asia," she said. "There will be 80 events including art exhibitions, cooking demonstrations, tea ceremonies, temple tours, sporting functions, all sorts of amazing events."
This year, the festival will celebrate the Year of the Sheep. Photo: Dallas Kilponen
According to University of Sydney emeritus professor of Chinese literature Jeffrey Riegel, the yang, or sheep, is known for its docile character, so people expect life will be more manageable.
"The sheep is also in early Chinese mythology thought to be a creature that knows instinctively the difference between good and bad, virtue and evil. So people expect that in the Year of the Sheep, justice will dominate," he said.
Venues throughout Sydney, including The Sydney Morning Herald Food & Wine Festival's Lunar Markets at Pyrmont Bay Park, will be lined with red lanterns, decorations and displays in celebration of the chun jie, or spring festival as it's known in China. Chun jie marks the start of the new lunar year, something Professor Riegel says is the biggest and most lavish festival in Chinese culture.
"It is also a chance to celebrate the old year and welcome the new, an annual renewal," he said. "They clear their debts, celebrate their togetherness, and by being together pave the way for even more prosperity."
Cecily Huang, a Chinese postgraduate student at UTS, is somewhat homesick but excited to celebrate her first Chinese New Year in Sydney.
"[Chinese] are probably more interested in celebrating here than in China, because all Chinese they get used to it," she said. "But here, they think they are far away from their home."
A first for 2015, long tables will be set up along Pitt, Sussex and Campbell streets for diners to valentine under the stars on February 14.
"We've got about 60 performers during the night moving from street to street and really encouraging that sense of outdoor dining, street food, the hustle and bustle and chaos, what we all know and love to be Asia," the festival's creative director Gill Minervini said.
However, a petition has been drafted in support of a name change of the event, citing the disrespectful nature of using the Chinese New Year name while also celebrating the cultures of Thailand, Korea and Vietnam as a lunar new year event.
"If I greet some Chinese man with 'Hey happy Vietnamese New Year - it's not right. It's just like greeting a Vietnamese man with Happy Chinese New Year," Anthony Ngo, a Vietnamese man who started the petition, told SBS.
Cr Moore defended the festival name.
"This festival is something that's continued on over the last 19 years, started as the Chinese New Year Festival, and now it continues as the Chinese New Year Festival."
In Parramatta, Centenary Square will be transformed into 'Lunar Square', hosting a family friendly twilight festival with traditional and contemporary performances and food on February 20.
"Council is proud to showcase Parramatta's rich cultural diversity and this festival is a great way for people to celebrate and share in the traditions and culture of our Asian communities," a Parramatta council spokeswoman said.
Gong xi fa cai. Welcome to the Year of the Sheep.
Festival Highlights:
Festival launch, Dawes Point: February 13, 7.30pm
Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors, Dawes Point: February 13-22
Sydney Morning Herald Food & Wine Festival Lunar Markets, Pyrmont Bay Park: February 12-22
Karaoke Climb, Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb: February 16-28
Lunar Streets, Chinatown, Thaitown, Koreatown: February 14, 5pm-11pm
Lunar Feats, Various restaurants: February 13-Mar 1
Chinese New Year Twilight Parade, Town Hall: February 22, 8pm-11.55pm
Dragon Boat Races, Cockle Bay: February 28-March 1
More information: http://www.sydneychinesenewyear.com/
Which animal are you?
Rat: 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008
Ox: 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009
Tiger: 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010
Rabbit: 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011
Dragon: 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012
Snake: 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013
Horse: 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014
Sheep: 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015
Monkey: 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016
Rooster: 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017
Dog: 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018
Pig: 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019
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