The 14th of February wasn't only Valentines Day this year, it also started the Year of the Tiger, or year 4708 of the Chinese lunar calendar. Melbourne is supposed to have the largest China town outside Asia so we were excited to check out the festivities for the New Year here. Chris did get the impression that the China town in New York seemed bigger but we won’t argue with the statistics!
Most Chinese New Year celebrations outside of China are simplified and shortened and don't necessarily direcly transplant Chinese traditions. However, we were impressed by the festivities all the same.
We arrived on Little Bourke St just in time for one of the smaller dragons to be released from a restaurant - it seemed as though most restaurants had made their own small dragons and then threw caulifowers and carrots and all kinds of vegetables at them while children set off deafening fire crackers all around it.
The streets were buzzing with activity and noise - terrific smells came from street stalls, balloons floated around, live Chinese music was playing. It was a great atmosphere.
The big dragon came later, winding its way through the side alleys, followed by a procession of people fighting for a chance to touch it - touching the dragon brings good luck for the rest of the year so we were amongst those who tried to get close to it before heading for a Chinese meal for lunch.
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