The Chinese have been making invaluable contributions to various areas of Australian society for the best part of 170 years.

The year of 1851 saw Australia’s first discovery of gold at Bathurst, in the mid-west of New South Wales.

However, it was the discovery of the world’s most precious material at Ballarat and Bendigo in Victoria later the same year which not only triggered the Australian goldrush, but which also led to the arrival of the first Chinese immigrants in the years that followed.

Back then, the Chinese worked as labourers, cooks, chefs and gardeners on their arrival here, while in 1854-55, over 30,000 Chinese people headed to the goldfields of Australia to work and seek their fortunes.

China’s most important festival is the Chinese New Year (also commonly referred to as the Spring Festival or the Lunar New Year) -  a time for families to be together….and it includes a full week of official public holidays.

This year’s Chinese New Year is running for the usual full fortnight – from February 1 to February 15.

Chinese New Year has strongly influenced Lunar New Year celebrations in its neighbouring cultures including Korea and Vietnam.

It’s celebrated around the world and people of all different backgrounds come together to watch and enjoy the vision of the tradition, the colour, the heart and the soul of the Chinese at their most enthusiastic.

There are many different parades, dances, feasts and other celebrations but the most famous include the spectacular dragon and lion dances.

While other activities include putting up decorations, eating a reunion dinner with one’s family on New Year’s Eve, fireworks and giving gifts in red envelopes as well as other presents.

Australia Celebrates!

With such a lengthy history of wonderful Chinese people living here in Australia, it is not surprising that we celebrate the Lunar New Year with such great enthusiasm in this country.

Indeed, Chinese New Year is celebrated in many major western capitals around the world including London and a host of prominent American cities headed by New York, San Francisco and Boston.

The United States has a current population of over 331 million, including well over five million Chinese-Americans.

Australia’s population of over 25 million (2018 figure), includes almost 700,000 Chinese-Australians, who celebrate the Lunar New Year with great pride and passion and invite their friends of other backgrounds to join them in the festivities.

Sydney and Melbourne are both famous for their multiculturalism and always host massive events over the fortnight of Chinese New Year.

Sydney’s Chinese New Year celebrations are believed to be the largest outside of Asia with crowds totalling almost 1.5 million attending around 80 themed events in 2020 (a few weeks prior to our first COVID-19 lockdown).

Major events and celebrations over the fortnight in 2022 will be held in the following locations: the CBD/Chinatown, Chatswood, Cabramatta, Ryde/Eastwood and Hurstville.

For dates and specifics of the above, click on the following link:

https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/entertainment/article/celebrate-lunar-new-year-sydney-2022

Year Of The Tiger

Chinese New Year 2022 is the Year of the Tiger, for the first time since 2010.

The Chinese Zodiac (shengxiao) is a repeating cycle of 12 years with each year being represented by an animal and its best known attributes. In order, these animals are the Rat, the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Goat, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog and the Pig.

The third sign of the Zodiac and in Chinese culture, the Tiger is a valued animal because of tigers embody courage and bravery, so the New Year could symbolize resilience and strength, even in times of struggle, according to Chinese American scholar Jonathan H. X. Lee.

Yes I Can Renovations is Sydney’s fastest growing and most innovative building company, specialising in bathroom, kitchen and full home renovations.

On behalf of the team at Yes I Can Renovations, Director Richard Dargham would like to wish all of our past, present and potential Chinese customers: “xin nian hao” – “Happy Chinese New Year”.

We hope that 2022 will be a year of great health, great happiness and great prosperity for you all after the difficulties and frustrations suffered by everyone in Australia over the past two years.