Chinese New Year, Binondo, Metro Manila
Because the Chinese calendar is based on the lunar year, the date of the Chinese New Year changes each year. This year it falls on February 18, 2007.
The Chinese animal signs are a 12-year cycle used for dating the years. They represent a cyclical concept of time, rather than the Western linear concept of time.
According to Chinese legend, the twelve animals quarrelled one day as to who was to head the cycle of years. The gods were asked to decide and they held a contest: whoever was to reach the opposite bank of the river would be first, and the rest of the animals would receive their years according to their finish. All the twelve animals gathered at the river bank and jumped in. Unknown to the ox, the rat had jumped upon his back. As the ox was about to jump ashore, the rat jumped off the ox’s back, and won the race. The pig, which was very lazy, ended up last. That is why the rat is the first year of the animal cycle, the ox second and the pig last.
Decorated with red banners and catchy lights, Chinatown is now all prepared to start the Year of the Pig on February 18. A lot of exciting activities are lined up for this year’s Chinese New Year Celebration.
Tuesday February 13 at 6 pm : Interpretative Chinese Modern Dance Competition.
Wednesday February 14 at 6 pm: Manadarin Love Song Competition
Thursday February 15 at 5 pm: Little Mr & Mrs. Chinatown Competition
Friday February 16 at 4pm: Parade of Floats
at 5 pm: Chinese Filipino Cultural Show with special guest “Hiyas ng Maynila”
at 8 pm: Fireworks
Saturday you can expect the traditional Dragon and Lion dance in the street of Binondo.
Why go to Hong Kong when you have Binondo at your doorstep in the heart of Manila? I recommend everybody to go there and have fun watching the different activities organised for Chinese New Year.
If you want to see more pictures about Chinese New Year click here.
I also highly recommend Ivan Man Dy’s Chinese New Year Edition of the Wok, a culinary walking tour through Binondo. You can check his Old Manila Walks website here to see his tour shedules.
Where: Main streets of Binondo & in Front of Binondo Church.
When: February 12 till February 18.
My rate: 9/10 Spectacular. I love to eat Chinese food and no better place to do this than in Binondo.
Source: My Sarisari Store
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Sidney » February 14th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
I am not endorsing anyone but since the face of Mayor Lito Atienza and his son is plastered all over Manila it is hard to ignore this. (Especially since I am a photographer). If this is a problem for pinoy.travel.blog I can just remove those two posters and put instead the image of another Chinese dragon!
manila streetwalker » February 14th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
photoshop? Yes, cant deny the fact that this event has, as with any other Philippine fiesta, become a outlet for these people to plaster their faces all over the place!
jules castillo » February 18th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
dear syney,Im jules , remember the person who approached you last saturday , Feb. 17 in ongpin, binondo.? gave you my call card , and was part of the entourage for the vice mayor of Manila.
I used to be a salesman working with wrangler jeans, and constantly travelling the entire philippines with prominent department stores to sell our products.
Just stopped travelling when I join the vice mayor’s office. your pictures impress me immensely and reminded me of my trips in those part of the philippines. from bacolod, iloilo,cebu ,davao, zamboanga …name them and we’ll share same passion in giving excitement to the place we have visited.
continue to explore more exciting places in our country and share them to the world…. Congratulations and hope to see you soon for a more open exchanges of thoughts and experiences…. Good LUCK TO YOU AND God bless!
jules castillo » February 18th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
sydney, my apology. got your name mispelled.
Migo » February 21st, 2007 at 6:43 pm
Wow, this is really a great event for us Filipino-Chinese to be touch of our culture. I remeber when I was a kid way back in quiapo when my grandfather used to have a hopia factory in barbosa and globo de oro. We always have a sumptous meal in ongpin’s best restaurants. I love to eat maki, machang in mañosa in ongpin. And the fried siopao. Sarap!
tara » April 4th, 2007 at 7:09 am
Sidney,
i was googling pics of old and new Binondo and came upon your page…your pics are good. thanks for promoting travel…it’s through travel that we see the world from a different perspective and become truly educated.
Tara
Tour Uttarakhand » April 20th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Chinese really big in celebrating all their festival and it is great festivity season now to celebrate ..Welcome 2007
Impressvietnam » November 17th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
For other traditions of celebrating lunar year, see Lunar New Year.
Chinese New Year
Traditional Chinese: 農曆新年
Simplified Chinese: 农历新年
Literal meaning: Agrarian Calendar New Year
[show]Transliterations
Mandarin
- Hanyu Pinyin: Nónglì xīnnián
Yue (Cantonese)
- Jyutping: nung4 lik6 san1 nin4
Spring Festival
Traditional Chinese: 春節
Simplified Chinese: 春节
[show]Transliterations
Mandarin
- Hanyu Pinyin: Chūnjié
Yue (Cantonese)
- Jyutping: ceon1 zit3
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year’s Eve in Meizhou, China
Also called Lunar New Year, Spring Festival
Observed by Chinese communities worldwide[1]
Type Cultural, Religious
(Buddhist and Taoist)
Significance The first day of the Chinese calendar (lunar calendar)
2007 date February 18
2008 date February 7
2009 date January 26
Celebrations Dragon dances/Lion dances, fireworks, family gathering, family meal, visiting friends and relatives (拜年), giving red envelopes, decorating with duilian (對联).
Related to Lantern Festival, which concludes the celebration of the New Year.
This article contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.
How to write the Chinese character for year
Chinese New Year is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is sometimes called the Lunar New Year, especially by people outside China. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first lunar month (Chinese: 正月; pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends on the 15th; this day is called Lantern Festival. Chinese New Year’s Eve is known as Chúxī (除夕, abbr. for 年除夕 Niánchúxī, Chúxì in Taiwan). It literally means “Year-pass Eve”.
Celebrated in areas with large populations of ethnic Chinese, Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the new year celebrations of its geographic neighbours, as well as cultures with whom the Chinese have had extensive interaction.[citation needed] These include Taiwanese, Koreans, Mongolians, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Vietnamese, and formerly the Japanese before 1873. In Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and other countries with significant Chinese populations, Chinese New Year is also celebrated, largely by overseas Chinese, and has, to varying degrees, become part of the traditional culture of these countries. In Canada, although Chinese New Year is not an official holiday, many ethnic Chinese hold large celebrations and Canada Post issues New Year’s themed stamps in domestic and international rates.
Although the Chinese calendar traditionally did not use continuously numbered years, its years are now often numbered from the reign of Huangdi outside China. But at least three different years numbered 1 are now used by various writers, causing the year beginning in 2008 to be 4706, 4705, or 4645.[2]