It’s officially time to celebrate the New Year!
The Chinese New Year celebrations are already underway. The Chinese New Year officially takes place in early February this year, but the London Chinese Association held their own event in preparation to ring in the New Year and flip the calendar. The Chinese cultural is full of dancing, costume, singing and happiness.
President of the London Chinese Association, Qinli Zhang says that this celebration is important in accordance with the Chinese cultural, “All Chinese people get together to celebrate the Chinese New Year. This year is the year of the monkey. It’s very important in Chinese tradition, now that Canada has become more multicultural and it’s good to see that.”
2016 turns a new chapter in the Chinese tradition. This year’s zodiac symbol marks the year of the monkey. The monkey was celebrated back in 2004 and will next be celebrated in 2028. Zhang says “People who are monkeys are supposed to be very intelligent, very active and they have a very good life.”
Chi Zhang has just recently immigrated to London from his hometown of Wuhan, China. He has recently graduated from Fanshawe College and is the lead singer in an all Chinese band that performed at the celebration. He says that coming from China he didn’t know what to expect about the culture, “I knew that the culture here is different so I have tried my best to adapt to the changes.”
“I try to balance, it’s really hard when I came here, but now I’m half Canadian! I have been here for a couple of years now and I like it, and now I’m already working here in Canada,” says Chi Zhang.
