2009: THE YEAR OF THE OX

2009 was the year of the ox

Chinese New Year day was on Monday 26 January 2009.

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The main public celebration in London was on Sunday 1 February 2009.

After a short Thanksgiving Ceremony, firecrackers were lit in the centre of Trafalgar Square.


Soon after midday there were a series of short speeches by Chinese and British officials.

Richard Barnes (Deputy Mayor of London)

Boris Johnson (Mayor of London) sent a recorded message

Councillor Louise Hyams (Lord Mayor of Westminster)

Mark Field (MP for Westminster)

Dotting the eyes of the dragon

Several of the officials helped to dot the eyes of the new dragon, helping it to come to life.
There was a dragon dance on stage, followed by an acrobatic lion dance in the square.


Entertainment on stage included dancing, singing and costume displays by ethnic performance groups from Kunming and Qinghai (two provinces in China).








There were also appearances by the cook and author Ken Hom, and by a drumming group.

Ken Hom

Chinese Cookery (book) Author: Ken Hom Publisher: BBC Books Date: January 2009

The celebrations ended with fireworks in Leicester Square at 5:55pm

Other entertainment during the day included:
- Lion dancing through Chinatown from 1-5pm
- Performances by local Chinese artists on a stage at the end of Dean Street (off Shaftesbury Avenue) from 1-4pm
- Stalls in Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and Chinatown
- Meals in Chinatown restaurants

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The table below shows which animal you are, depending on the year in which you are born.
Note: if you were born in January or February you need to check if your birthday was before or after the date of the Chinese New Year
(if it was before this day your animal is the one shown for the previous year).

The dates for the start of the next new years are:
2010 - Feb 14 ; 2011 - Feb 3 ; 2012 - Jan 23 ; 2013 - Feb 10 ; 2014 - Jan 31

The 2009 China in London season started on January 24. See: http://www.visitlondon.com/events/special/china-in-london-2009
This celebrates Chinese arts, heritage and culture at many different cultural institutions, galleries, museums and visitor attractions throughout London.

Shanghai will host the World Expo in 2010 [website: http://www.expo2010china.com (in Chinese) or http://en.expo2010china.com (in English)]
There will be Shanghai-related exhibitions at the British Museum, City Hall and The Victoria & Albert Museum.
The mascot of World Expo 2010 Shanghai China is Hai Bao, which means "the treasure of the sea"

Haibao: mascot for World Expo 2010

For further details about the Chinese New Year celebrations in Chinatown, see: http://www.londonchinatown.org