Southampton Chinese New Year: Sunday 22 Feb 2015 West Quay

Update: Chinese New Year 2016 Celebration in Southampton: Sunday 14th February 2016 at Regents Park Community College SO16 4GW.

修咸頓華人協會2016農曆新年慶祝會 Chinese Association of Southampton (CAS): Chinese New Year Celebration 2016 pic.twitter.com/1hcIwp8zXu

— Chinese Southampton (@SotonChinese) January 11, 2016

Original post for Chinese New Year 2015 (Below):

Southampton Chinese New Year Celebration will take place on Sunday 22nd February 2015 inside West Quay shopping centre, from 11am to 1pm.

The Year of the Sheep (or Goat) runs from 19th February 2015 to 7th February 2016.

The Chinese New Year celebration is organised by Chinese Association of Southampton.

Celebrate Chinese New Year in Southampton: 22 Feb 2015 from 11am - 1pm at West Quay shopping centre. — Celebrate Chinese New Year in Southampton: 22 Feb 2015 from 11am – 1pm at West Quay shopping centre.

Proramme of Southampton Chinese New Year 2015 celebration at West Quay shopping centre.

The programme includes: Lion Dance, traditional Chinese folk dance, Chinese folk songs, ancient art of face changing, Chinese music recitals, Kung Fu display, and a historical costume show.

Andy Lai, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Association of Southampton, and members from the Association are busy preparing for the event to bring festive atmosphere and high-level performances to Southampton and the Chinese communities.

Andy Lai (right) and members from Chinese Association of Southampton at West Quay preparing for the Chinese New Year celebration on 22nd February 2015.

The celebration was cancelled last year, however, Lion Dance performances still took place outside West Quay and in Southampton city centre throughout the afternoon. I happened to be in town last year and thoroughly enjoyed the spectacular performances.

Chinese Association of Southampton kindly shares these photographs of the 2013 Chinese New Year celebration at West Quay to readers of Chandler’s Ford Today.

You can see that the performances covered Chinese Lion Dance, kung-fu, classical Chinese singing, Asian dance performances, western pop songs, and the unforgettable Gangnam Style.

Eye-dotting ceremony

The Chinese New Year celebration always starts with an eye-dotting ceremony, which signifies blessing and awakening. You’ll see the auspicious eye-dotting ceremony in this video clip, produced by PromotionTree.