Nick Graham celebrates the Chinese New Year, which takes place today. Also known as the Spring Festival, it is the most important of traditional Chinese holidays. 2013 is the Year of the Snake.
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| Lion Dance, Chinese New Year, 2013 (source: Wikicommons) |
Bells toll midnight,
Amid a cascade of fireworks,
Music in the streets,
A night of celebration.
A month later,
On a far continent,
Fireworks are lit,
As celebrations there begin.
A dragon dances through the streets,
Glittering red and gold,
A trail of iridescent canvas,
Spreading annual fortune.
Lions too gambol through the city,
Resplendent in their costumes,
Bringing luck and happiness -
Maned heralds of the year to come.
Superstition, tradition, faith,
They play their part now as ever,
The colour red holds power,
The year’s tone must be set this day.
The snake slithers in,
To claim its rightful time,
The dragon, its year done,
Must wait patiently eleven more.
A fleet of lanterns,
Drift through the darkness,
Carrying a precious cargo,
Hope,
And luck,
For a New Year.
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