Happy Chinese New Year 2016! Everything You Need to Know About the Year of the Monkey

Happy Chinese New Year!

This year, Chinese New Year – The Year of the Monkey – begins on February 8th and lasts until Jan 27th, 2017.

Celebrations have started around the world – and now London is joining the festivities.

People gathered at one of Hong Kong’s best-known temples – the Wong Tai Sin – to make their new year wishes, while dancers dressed in traditional costumes performed at Ditan Park in Beijing.

Wellwishers in the Philippines, Indonesia, North Korea, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand have also kicked off the celebrations in their countries.

The Sydney Opera House in Australia was bathed in red light as part of city-wide Lumiere and lantern display to welcome in Chinese New Year

While preliminary events have been kicking off across the UK, the big celebrations in the capital won’t take place until Sunday 14th February.

On Saturday, the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square hosted a free Chinese New Year-themed family day, while Chiswick House Gardens launched the UK debut of the Magical Lantern Festival on Wednesday February 3rd.

The display, which included a 66-metre long dragon, runs until March 6th.

The new year, also known as the Spring Festival, is marked by the lunisolar Chinese calendar, so the date changes from year to year.

The festivities usually start the day before the New Year and continue until the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the new year.

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