The Lantern Festival celebration starts this month across Bournemouth, Poole and other places to wrap up the Chinese New Year month.
The first celebrating event will be in Poole Dolphin Centre this Saturday followed by more events in Boscombe and Christchurch. Various workshops will take place in Bournemouth Library during this period.
The Lantern Festival constitutes the final part of the over two week long ‘Spring Festival’ that marks the beginning of the lunar new year. The celebration expresses Chinese people’s best wishes to their family and the future. Red lanterns and flower lanterns will be displayed and Yuanxiao, the round dumplings which represent a meaning of reunion, will be served as the typical dish.
Bournemouth Chinese school started organising such events since 2006. This is the second year it is celebrated in public which is promoted by the Bournemouth Chinese Community, one of the oldest and largest ethnic communities in town. Oriental Culture Educational Society (OCES), Bournemouth University Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), representatives of the Dorset Race Equality Council, and the Bournemouth and Poole College all join to promote awareness of Chinese culture to a broader general public of Bournemouth.
Alan Mercel-Sanca, the chairperson of OCES, said: “ Chinese culture has in its globalised aspects an increasingly important part to play. The celebration provides an opportunity for Western/UK people to become more aware of Chinese culture .”
The whole celebration will end up at the Bishop of Winchester School in Bournemouth on 26 February.
Picture: Wenyi Wang
