PARIS PREPARES FOR THE YEAR OF THE WOODEN DRAGON

To celebrate the Chinese New Year, Paris is preparing and organizing festivities for the occasion. The starting point for the celebrations was launched on Sunday February 4 when the Champs-Elysées was pedestrianized, thus allowing a stroll of lions and dragons to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Tuesday February 13, between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., the 8th arrondissement and the St Honoré committee meet Asian traditions and folklore to celebrate the year of the Wooden Dragon, after the year 2023 placed under the Water Hare.

Sunday February 4, walkers met with Asia for a colorful parade on the most beautiful avenue in the world which, like every Sunday, belongs to pedestrians. At 99 and 104 avenue des Champs Elysées, participants gathered to parade in traditional outfits (Han Fu) and celebrate the « Spring Festival » marking the new year according to the lunar, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and other Southeast Asian countries.

The festivities, which can last up to 2 weeks, are linked to cultural traditions and represent the Chinese community around the world. During this period, parades and shows in shimmering colors enliven the streets to the sound of drums, cymbals and firecrackers supposed to ward off evil spirits and attract good luck for the year to come.

Belleville, Samaritaine and 13th arrondissement

Since February 3, the Belleville district (10th, 11th, 19th and 20th) has been offering activities to mark the year of the Wooden Dragon, offering street food specialties, Samaritan calligraphy workshops and Dragon dances. . In the 13th arrondissement of the capital, Asian culture will be highlighted through exhibitions, shows and concerts for 2 weeks (from February 8 to 25)

Tet Festival

Among the Vietnamese, Tet Nguyen Dan (start of field work) is synonymous with a new season and the arrival of spring, but also a new meeting of Yin and Yang, just like the Chinese, Korean or Malaysian New Year whose date is even in these  countries. This date is chosen according to the lunar calendar which begins with the first moon, when the sun enters the sign of Pisces (always between January 20 and February 19). This year, it falls on February 10 and marks the particularities linked to ancestral practices

This is the most important time of the year when families and friends gather together for 3 days (up to 15 in Vietnam) to celebrate the New Year. During this period, we see the house thoroughly cleaned to eliminate the bad things from the past year and make way for the happiness and luck to come. On New Year’s Day, we also avoid emptying the trash (synonymous with throwing money out the window) and the altar of the deceased is cleaned to burn incense and welcome the spirits into our homes.

The first person to cross the threshold of the house is important since they are supposed to bring happiness and luck to the family for the year. If the person has not been invited, they will be responsible for anything that happens to the family. Tradition dictates that we come with branches that are budding. By flowering in the house during this period, they mean luck and happiness. According to beliefs, everything that happens during these 3 days will be repeated all year round. Furthermore, it is customary to offer “red envelopes” (Li xi). Filled with money, they bring luck. Indeed, according to legend, demons harassed children by giving them fever at the simple touch. But 8 fairies came and transformed the contents into coins, wrapped in a red cloth to keep the demons away from the children. From now on, red envelopes are a sign of good luck for those who receive them (family, friends, teachers, etc.)

It is also during this period that people go to the pagodas to wish peace and tranquility, health and good fortune but also to communicate with the dead, while distributing red packets and vegetarian dishes.

The different Parisian fashion shows 2024

• February 2: Big party (market, entertainment, games and dancing evening at the Pavillon Baltard dr Nogent-sur-Marne (94), between 12 p.m. and 1 a.m.
• February 3: From 2 p.m. at 56 rue de Belleville 75010, 75011, 75019 and 75020), parade is enhanced by a street food market open from noon to 9 p.m.
• February 4: Parade for the Chinese New Year on the Champs Elysées from Fouquet’s Paris to fg St Honoré
• February 10: Parade of the Marais from Place de la République to the square in front of the Hôtel de Ville parade (75004) passing through the streets of Temple, de Bretagne, Turbigo and Beaubourg.
• February 13: Parade of artists and percussionists Fg St Honoré (75008) with around thirty artists and dragons, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., corner rue du Fg St Honoré and rue Royale (75008).
• February 14: Parade leaving from Stalingrad Park in Aubervilliers (93) passing by the Town Hall.
• February 18: The largest parade in the capital takes place between Avenue de Choiy, Porte de Choisy and Avenue d’Ivry (75013) between 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Lion and dragon dances, percussion, traditional costumes, firecrackers, ribbons and red lanterns will be there. It will pass through the streets of Disque (44 Av d’Ivry), intersection of rue de Tolbiac and avenue de Choisy, Avenue de Choisy, Boulevard Masséna and return Avenue d’Ivry.
• February 25: parade in Noisy le Grand (93).

Other parades and festivities took place at the Hippodrome de Vincennes, at the Dragons and Lanterns festival at the Jardin d’Acclimentation, and for the Lunar New Year at the Guimet Museum.

The Chinese New Year for the next 3 years will fall on February 29, 2025, February 17, 2026 and February 7, 2027.

From January 29, 2025, we will be in the year of the wooden snake.

Copyright ©2024 – IMPACT EUROPEAN

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