Do Chinese New Year Right This Year: An Insider's Guide To This Very Kolkata Festival

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Ten-Second Takeaway

Chinese New Year is on Friday! Celebrate with the community – starting today, the Chinatown areas will see spectacular dragon and lion dances, martial arts shows, music and food from the Chinese community.

What's So Special?

Us Kolkattans are lucky to be able to boast of having the only Chinatown in India with places like the Chinese Kali Mandir {probably the only one in the world), the Tiretti morning market, Chinese temples, restaurants, grocery stores and more. And with Chinese New Year around the corner we’re in a store for a slew of events, you wouldn’t want to miss. February 16 marks the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebrations around the world for 2018. This year ushers in the Year Of The Dog — one of the 12 zodiacs in the Chinese cycle, that follows a lunar calendar.

Brace yourselves because it’s time to feast your eyes on spectacular dragon dances, acrobat shows, martial arts and whet our appetites on steaming hot siu mais, dumplings and more.

You Can't Miss These

Be sure to be there at the Pei Moi Chinese School in Tangra today at 8 pm for an extravagant Chinese New year event complete with a dragon dance performance, dragon acrobat show and martial arts. There’s no entry fee for the event. Check here for more.

Next week, head over for the two-day fete at the Pei Moi School on February 18 and 19, from 6:30 pm onwards. The fete will have a variety of food stalls serving piping hot homemade food from the community — including fishball soups, momos, siu mais, baos, and even some north Indian food. Bring the kids along as there will be plenty of game stalls to keep them entertained. You could also win a prize at the lucky draw — we hear they have motorbikes to win.

The dragon and the snow lion are one of the most auspicious animals for the Chinese. The dragon dance signifies good luck and a fresh start. Normally it has two people under the costume, it takes up to two months to get the dance right so people do rehearsals beforehand. Professionals practice it all year round, of course.

I remember my kid brother donning his mini snow lion over his head and singing the jingle “Dun Dung Cheng” on repeat, mimicking the beat of the drums during the famous snow lion dance.

I like the familiar sound of the bursting of crackers early morning, a tradition to drive away evil spirits, five days before the new year to signal entering into the new year and the next animal sign. So technically, we’ve already entered  the Year of the Dog according to the Lunar calendar.  Wish it brings you fortune and prosperity!

Anything Else?

Family lies at the heart of Chinese culture and Kolkata is home to thousands of overseas Indian Chinese whose families come back every year during this time to reunite and celebrate. On the eve of the New Year, a typical Chinese family will be found feasting on ten course meals, paper money will be offered to the ancestors and burnt with the belief that they will receive it in heaven. Red paper packets filled with money will be given for luck and many dragon groups will set out to visit the Chinese houses around Kolkata {they’ll go around neighborhoods the entire night and sometimes till the early mornings}.

Catch a glimpse of this near The Chinese Kali Mandir in Tangra at around 9pm on February 15 and 16.

Pro Tip: Be sure to wear mosquito repellants and comfortable shoes.