Lunar New Year Festivities at the Chinese Canadian Museum
January 25, February 1 & 2: Year of the Snake Themed Crafts, Board Games and Treats
Vancouver, BC (January 16, 2025) – The Chinese Canadian Museum is hosting various family-friendly Lunar New Year festivities to celebrate the Year of the Snake at their Wing Sang Building in Vancouver Chinatown. Colourful cultural activities include storytelling, crafts, board games and special Lunar New Year treats.
The museum team will also be taking part in the 2025 Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Celebration and will be marching in the parade on Sunday, February 2nd at 11 a.m. After the parade, the museum is inviting the public to visit and enjoy artisanal ice cream, balloon art, and other festive activities at the museum.
“Lunar New Year is a special time and likely the most important holiday of the year for many Chinese and Asian communities around the world,” explains Dr. Melissa Karmen Lee, CEO of the Chinese Canadian Museum. “Here in Vancouver, we have one of Canada’s largest Lunar New Year parades that has been celebrated for more than 50 years since 1974, in the heart of Chinatown. It’s a time when all communities can gather together, celebrate and enjoy cultural festivities, and send blessings of prosperity and good luck to ring in the New Year.”
This year, Lunar New Year falls on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 and according to the Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Wood Snake represents wisdom, intuition, creativity and transformation. Those born in the Year of the Snake are said to be intelligent, sensitive, strategic and adaptable. Lunar New Year is also known as the Spring Festival which follows the beginning of the lunisolar Chinese calendar, marking the end of the winter and the beginning of spring with a new moon.
It is common tradition for Asian families to clean their houses and symbolically sweep away any bad luck before the New Year, adorn their homes with red paper decorations with blessings of good luck and fortune, and gather for reunion dinners and pay respects to elders and ancestors. Married adults often hand out lucky red envelopes, lai see in Cantonese (利事) or hong bao in Mandarin (红包), with money to children and elders as a blessing of prosperity and good health.
Lunar New Year festivities at the Chinese Canadian Museum include:
Lucky Red Decorations Paper Craft (Saturday, January 25th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
Learn about the traditional folk art of Chinese red paper cutting and make your own lucky design with 福 on it (pronounced as fú in Mandarin and fuk in Cantonese) which means “good fortune”. The lucky red paper decoration is often hung upside down on the front door or window during the new year so that luck and prosperity will pour into the home and bless all who pass through.
Cantonese Storytime with Colour it Cantonese (Saturday, February 1st at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.)
A special Lunar New Year Cantonese story time with Priscilla from Colour it Cantonese! Sing festive songs, share stories, and have fun learning Cantonese and about Chinese New Year traditions together. All ages welcome and suitable for little ones from ages 0-5.
Elephant Garden Creamery Ice Cream Cart (Sunday, February 2nd from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.)
Have a sweet start to the new year with some artisanal ice cream. Taste some delicious Lunar New Year inspired flavours like Lychee Osmanthus and Black Sesame Rice Ball at Elephant Garden Creamery’s pop-up cart at the museum.
Balloon Art by faceaballoonza! (Sunday, February 2nd from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.)
Internationally acclaimed balloon artist Kristal Yee from faceaballoonza will be making her twisted balloon creations for museum visitors, with a Lunar New Year twist!
Saturday, February 1st and Sunday, February 2nd from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Lucky Snake Charm Crafts - Celebrate the Year of the Snake and craft your own beaded snake keychain to keep as a lucky charm.
Chinese Board Games - Are you a mahjong master or a new challenger to the game? Try your hand at some popular Chinese board games such as mahjong, xiangqi, Chinese checkers, and more.
Tray of Togetherness Tasting - Learn about the traditional Chinese “Tray of Togetherness”
(攢盤) and sample some common Lunar New Year candies and treats and learn the meaning and symbolism behind each food.
The Lunar New Year festivities at the Chinese Canadian Museum are included with admissions. For more event details and background on the museum’s exhibitions, visit www.chinesecanadianmuseum.ca
About the Chinese Canadian Museum | chinesecanadianmuseum.ca
The Chinese Canadian Museum Society of British Columbia is an independent, non-profit charitable organization founded in March 2020 to create a museum honouring and sharing Chinese Canadian history, contributions, and living heritage. Guided by its mission statement “Connecting to Chinese Canadian stories – addressing inclusion for all”, the Chinese Canadian Museum aspires to provide an invigorating and transformative experience for present and future generations through its exhibitions and educational programming throughout B.C. and Canada.
The first of its kind in Canada, the Chinese Canadian Museum opened to the public in 2023 and is located in the historic Wing Sang Building in Vancouver Chinatown.
Instagram: @ccmuseumbc Facebook: @ChineseCanadianMuseum Linkedin: @ChineseCanadianMuseum
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Media contact: Yvonne Chiang, 604-880-5090, yvonne@chiangpr.ca