Chinese New Year, also known as
Spring Festival
or Chun Jie (春节) in Chinese, is the most important and significant holiday in Chinese culture and is celebrated by millions of people around the world.
It is celebrated for the Lunar New Year, which falls between late January and mid-February, depending on the Chinese lunar calendar.
For the year 2024 (Year of the Dragon), the Chinese New Year day is
February 10, 2024.
The date of the Chinese New Year coincides with the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar.
The Dragon is synonymous with magnanimous power, strength and harmony.
The celebrations last two weeks, with numerous public initiatives.
The Lion Dance is very famous, with dancers moving lions of different sizes, dancing to the rhythm of music through the streets of the cities.
The lion is a symbol of strength and courage and therefore offers happiness and security for the new year.
History
Chinese New Year has a long history of over 4000 years.
Its origin is linked to the legends and traditions of ancient Chinese culture.
The festival has roots in rites to
exorcise evil spirits
and to wish good luck and abundance in the new year.
Customs
Throughout its history, it has developed some fixed traditions, many of which are still practiced today.
These include purchasing New Year's Eve foods, cleaning the house, placing red decorations, New Year's Eve dinner, New Year's Eve vigil, greeting visits, dragon and lion dance, homage to gods and ancestors, prayer for good fortune and disaster prevention, temple processions, temple festivals, drum and gong parades, flag processions, red packet (Hong bao 红包).
The Chinese love the color red because it symbolizes vitality, joy and luck
.
Giving the "red packet" to children is a way to wish them happiness and luck.
Chinese New Year celebration in Rome for the year of the Dragon 2024
Chinese New Year Festival in Rome for the Year of the Dragon 2024
The party in the Nicola Calipari Gardens (Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II)
on 17 February 2024 and 18 February 2024
, an event in art, traditions, entertainment and authentic flavors of Chinese cuisine, traditional shows and numerous gazebos with authentic culinary delights will offer visitors the opportunity to taste traditional dishes in an engaging environment.
Program: February 17, 2024 with cultural and culinary performances scheduled from 12:00 to 18:00.
The theme of the event to celebrate Chinese New Year at the beginning of the Dragon Year focuses on cultural and educational insight into Chinese culture, its philosophy and the history of the dragon as a distinctive symbol of 2024. February 18, 2024 Celebration, Parade of dances and entertainment and will be the pinnacle of this celebration, with a program that will start at 11:00 am with a parade of dragons and lion dances, which will cross Viale Manzoni and Via Principe Eugenio, to end at 12:00 pm: 30 again in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II.
At 1.00 pm, the Chinese Ambassador and all the Italian guests will be present for the start of the ceremony, presided over by the Host President Zhu, as soon as everyone has arrived.
President Xu of the Chinese Youth Association in Italy will welcome, followed by best wishes for the celebration of the party from the Chinese Ambassador and the illustrious guests.
Afterwards, a video of the Chinese New Year celebration will be shown and wonderful performances will be held.
Participants will have the opportunity to enjoy Chinese dishes, explore gazebos dedicated to Chinese culture, and
connect with the Chinese community
in Rome.
The event on February 18th will end at 7pm.
Under the guidance of the Chinese Embassy in Italy, the party was organized by the Chinese Community in Rome, in particular by
4 Chinese associations in Rome:
Chinese Youth Association in Italy, Chinese QIAOAI Association in Italy, Council for the promotion and development of Italian-Chinese trade, Quzhou Association in Italy, and assisted by 16 other Chinese associations in Rome.
This is
the fifth Chinese New Year celebration organized in Rome
.
The Chinese Community in Rome, one of the largest in the city, is characterized by the significant presence of Chinese immigrants, contributing substantially to the enrichment and cultural diversity of the Italian capital. It is heterogeneous, made up of people from different regions of China. , each with its own culture, language and traditions, is active in the commercial sector, managing numerous shops, supermarkets and restaurants.
Chinese restaurants in Rome offer a wide range of regional cuisines, making the food scene very diverse and popular.
A diverse set of Chinese cultural associations and organizations in the city are actively engaged in promoting interaction between the Chinese community and the larger Roman society, including cultural associations, trade associations, associations with groups representing fellow Chinese from the same region, and associations dedicated to assisting their fellow countrymen.
Each of these plays a unique role in facilitating intercultural dialogue and supporting specific community needs.
The Chinese community in Rome represents 20 Chinese associations in Rome, and offers its contribution through a mutually oriented effort towards integration, mutual respect and cultural enrichment.
This commitment aims to promote constructive dialogue and positive collaboration within Roman and Italian society
In Prato the Dragon parade in the heart of the textile city
In the sign of integration, the
Chinese New Year scheduled for February
(9 February, 17 and 18 February) in Prato, the Tuscan city, the capital of textiles, young and multi-ethnic.
The event involves the Prato and Chinese communities every year and attracts thousands of tourists for the colorful procession and the big party in the historic centre.
On
February 9th, at 5pm, when midnight strikes in Beijing, the ringing of the bell at the Pu Hua Buddhist temple
marks the beginning of the celebrations in Prato.
Fashion shows on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th February
.
On February 17, in particular, the procession will move through the Macrolotto 1 district, with an initiative aimed mainly at the many textile companies operating in this dynamic and lively area of the city.
Sunday 18 February
will be the turn of the
usual Dragon parade
, which will cross the Macrolotto Zero area for three hours, arriving in the center among the dancers.
In the heart of the city, against the backdrop of the Praetorian Palace, the most exciting performances will be held, under the statue of Marco Datini, historic fourteenth-century merchant and tutelary deity of the city of Prato.
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