HR on the weekend: Lion, Chinese New Year & Bloomsbury Tea Lover's Event

Celebrate – Chinese New Year

This weekend marks the start of Chinese New Year (begins 28th January, ends February 15th), welcoming the year of the Rooster. On Sunday, London's Chinatown will be bustling, with the traditional parade expected to start at 10am. Local artists, performers and six floats will dance their way through Wardour and Gerrard Street into Chinatown, with the theme of the parade being ‘China: Today & Yesterday’ to celebrate the best of the past and present in Chinese culture, according to the Evening Standard. Charring Cross will also be alight with martial art displays and workshops.

The festival lasts for around 23 days and most days have a special meaning attached to them, as do the traditions associated with the event. For example, one custom is to sweep dust to the middle of the room and out the back door, to symbolise sweeping away bad luck – How Stuff Works reports. Food also plays a significant part in the occasion; during the Lantern Festival at the end of the period, a soup containing balls of glutinous rice is eaten. The dumplings represent the full moon, and like other foods synonymous with the period - peanuts, mandarin oranges and red coloured foods such as pomegranates - intends to bring good luck.

Good luck, health and prosperity transcend across all cultures at New Year, and for us, it welcomes a time of change.