What Lunar New Year means for culture and community

Lunar New Year in London is a moment when the city comes alive with community celebrations, from lion dances in Chinatown to small family gatherings across the capital. It’s a festival that brings together people from China, Vietnam, Korea, and Southeast Asia, sharing traditions, food, and stories of renewal. At WM College, we see it as an opportunity for learners to explore different cultures, experience inclusive traditions, and connect classroom learning with real-life experiences.

We’ve written this blog to help you learn more about Lunar New Year and how it’s celebrated.

What is the Lunar New Year?

Lunar New Year, often called Chinese New Year, is one of the most important festivals across East and Southeast Asia. It marks the beginning of the new year based on the lunar calendar, which follows the cycles of the moon, usually falling between late January and mid-February.

Common themes include honoring ancestors, spending time with family, welcoming good fortune, and participating in cultural rituals, traditional foods, and festive performances.

Who celebrates the Lunar New Year?

While many associate the Lunar New Year with Chinese traditions, it is also celebrated by Vietnamese (Tết), Korean (Seollal), Thai, Indonesian, and Malaysian communities. Each culture has its own unique rituals, foods, and performances, highlighting the festival’s rich diversity.

Although often called “Chinese New Year” in the West, the celebration extends far beyond China. Countries such as Vietnam, Korea, and Tibet observe the occasion in their own ways, combining shared themes of renewal and family reunion with distinct cultural customs.

For Vietnamese families celebrating Tết, the focus is on honouring ancestors, preparing symbolic foods, and welcoming the first visitor of the year, believed to bring good fortune. In Korea, Seollal centres on family gatherings, traditional dress, and rituals that pay respect to previous generations. Across Southeast Asia, community festivals, temple visits, and vibrant markets reflect how traditions evolve while preserving cultural identity.

Together, these diverse celebrations highlight how cultural festivals can strengthen community connections and encourage respect for different identities, values that lie at the heart of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) at WM College.

Why is it the Year of the Horse?

The “Year of the Horse” comes from the Chinese zodiac, a 12-year cycle where each year is represented by an animal. The Horse symbolizes energy, independence, and adventure. People born in the Year of the Horse are thought to be hardworking, social, and lively.

The zodiac repeats every 12 years, so the Year of the Horse comes around once every 12 years.

What does it mean to communities?

At its core, Lunar New Year is about reunion and hope. It is traditionally a time for family gatherings, shared meals, and marking a fresh start for the year ahead. Read National Geographic’s overview of the global celebration.

Preparations often include cleaning homes to sweep away bad luck, decorating with red to symbolise prosperity, and exchanging gifts that express wishes for health and success. These rituals may differ across cultures, but the intention is universal: stepping into the new year with optimism.

For learners and communities in London, engaging with celebrations like the Lunar New Year offers more than a cultural experience; it broadens perspectives, challenges assumptions, and strengthens cross-cultural connections. Festivals like this remind us that diversity is not just something to acknowledge, but something to actively celebrate.

Things to do in London for Lunar New Year

The Chinese Lunar New Year festival in London is the largest celebration of its kind outside Asia, drawing hundreds of thousands of people to the West End every year. This year, the celebrations will take place from 21 – 22 February, centred on Chinatown and Trafalgar Square. 

1. Watch lion & dragon dances

The celebration includes a vibrant parade with colourful floats and what’s described as the largest gathering of Chinese lions and dragons in Europe. You’ll also find free stage performances in Trafalgar Square, with traditional dragon and lion dances, music, martial arts displays, and arts & crafts stalls. 

2. Taste festive foods

Chinatown hosts festive food and market stalls, while family-friendly entertainment is often set up around Leicester Square.

3. Join the parade

Route: Trafalgar Square → Charing Cross Road → Shaftesbury Avenue → Chinatown

The celebrations usually start near the east corner of Trafalgar Square and move up Charing Cross Road into Chinatown, though specific routes can vary year to year. 

Learn more about culture and diversity at WM College

Lunar New Year shows how culture, creativity, and community come together. At WM College, you can explore these themes through courses in Creative Arts like drawing, painting, and jewellery making, to Performing Arts and Creative Digital Media. There are plenty of opportunities to turn your curiosity about culture into a hands-on experience.