Whether you’re having an early night to go hiking the next day, heading to a friend’s house party or going out clubbing until the early hours of the morning. There are so many options this New Year’s Eve in Birmingham. When it comes to Chinese New Year (January 22), however, there’s only one place every Brummie will want to be.
After a three-year break, Birmingham’s popular Chinese New Year celebrations will return to the city centre to ring in The Year of the Rabbit at the Bullring, Grand Central & Arcadian. Expect plenty of dancing dragons, traditional folk music, delicious Chinese street food and much more. More importantly, the celebrations have rebranded this year as Birmingham Lunar New Year.
“We’re thrilled to bring Lunar New Year festivities back to Southside in 2023,” said James Wong, Chair of the Chinese Festival Committee Birmingham. “As you may have spotted, the name of the event is different from previous years. We have made this change to recognise communities across the world who celebrate the Lunar New Year alongside our Chinese community.”
Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, is a major holiday in China. The celebrations mark the beginning of the lunar calendar, which follows the moon cycles, the traditional Chinese calendar. Places like South Korea, Vietnam and other East Asian countries also heavily celebrate the event. Traditionally, it is a time to honour deities and ancestors, as well as feast and visit family.
There will be dancing and performances across the whole weekend of January 21 & 22 in Birmingham’s Chinatown. While visitors to this free event can also expect funfair rides and a fireworks finale. Lunar New Year Celebrations is co-hosted by the Chinese Festival Committee Birmingham and Hippodrome Theatre. They will release a complete programme of events in January. To learn more about the event head here.