DUBLIN’S Lord Mayor has saluted the “positive contribution” made to the city by the Chinese community over the past several years.
DUBLIN’S Lord Mayor has saluted the “positive contribution” made to the city by the Chinese community over the past several years.
Speaking as the community celebrated Chinese New Year, Lord Mayor Naoise Ó Muirí paid tribute to the Dublin Chinese New Year Festival Committee for their hard work in “continuing this unique festival which is growing every year”.
Ó Muirí wished Chinese friends here and all over the world a happy new year for 2013, the year of the snake.
The snake years are sixth in the Chinese 12-year cycle. People born in 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989 and 2001 were born in the year of the snake, and Chinese folklore denotes people born in these years as contemplative and private.
Chinese New Year – also known as the Spring Festival – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. Celebrations traditionally run from Chinese New Year’s Day (the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar) to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the month.
Chinese ambassador to Ireland Luo Linquan said the Spring Festival of the Chinese lunar year of the snake had a universal appeal.
“It is a time for people to return to their home, reunite with family, and gather around a holiday meal with loved ones and friends,” he said. “The Spring Festival is a time of joy, hope and optimism. ”
A range of arts events are taking place until 22 February as part of the Dublin Chinese New Year Festival, with the full list available on the festival website atwww.cny.ie.
Established in 2008, the festival showcases the best of Sino-Irish culture in Ireland.
This year’s festival allows you to sample ‘A Taste of China’ via great Chinese recipes submitted by some of Dublin’s best Chinese restaurants that you can enjoy at home with easy-to-follow guidelines from food blogger Julie O’Niell on the festival website.
