Chinese New Year is fast approaching and thousands of people across Wales are looking forward to the annual festivities with their families, friends and community groups. This year, Chinese New Year falls on Sunday, January 22, and 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit, so many costumes and themed activities will be based around rabbits.
Chinese New Year, also known as "Spring Festival" and "Lunar New Year" marks the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. Each year is named after one of 12 animals and festivities are usually centred around each year's specific animal.
According to legend, many years ago, a Chinese Emperor hosted a grand race - and the 12 fastest animals to cross the finish line had years named after them. The winner of the race was the cunning rat, followed by the ox and then the tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and, finally, the pig in 12th place. To get the latest WalesOnline newsletters emailed to you directly for free click here.
