Paris "Year of the Golden Rat" Festival Day

Extraordinary figures from Thai mythology and traditional dance. Taiwanese friends often ask me if one can feel the atmosphere of the Chinese New Year while in Paris, far from home. Of course, no one could imagine that in Paris, which is not my foreign land, this strong Chinese New Year atmosphere, though not a special day for me personally, is felt closely because I live on the edge of the Chinatown. Especially every year, shops and streets in the Chinatown are decorated with lanterns and colored ribbons, and crowds shopping for New Year goods are particularly dense. Added to this is the special coverage by mass media, making both the major Chinatowns in northern and southern Paris especially lively and attracting many curious Parisian residents to visit.

This year's Chinese New Year was as bustling as usual. On the first day (February 7th), which was a Thursday, everyone was still at work. The lion dance troupe had already beaten the large drums on the main street of Chinese shops. The clanging sounds of traditional Chinese festive music accompanied the lion dance, blessing and warding off evil spirits at the entrances of various Chinese stores, attracting many spectators. At this time, people burning incense and praying for blessings in Chinese temples would frequently hear unusual firecracker sounds. This year's dragon and lion dance parade in front of the Paris City Hall took place on the third day of the weekend, while the traditional dragon and lion dance parade in Paris's 13th district was on Sunday afternoon. Like previous years, it attracted thousands of people to visit and watch this rare Chinese grand carnival. Under an atmosphere of joy and celebration, one could be infected by this exotic flavor of traditional Chinese festivals.

The annual Chinese New Year Grand Carnival always clogs the streets of the Chinatown in this triangular area to the brim. The Golden Rat Year Grand Carnival opened its prologue under the guidance of traditional Chinese music. Teams dressed in traditional costumes of the five major ethnic groups, colorful flag teams, processions of Buddha statues, dramatic dragon dances, lion dance troupes, and more were presented. What was most special this year was the appearance of Beijing Olympic figures (of course, the most significant sporting event this year was the Olympics in August) and the Shaolin Kung Fu team participating in the parade and demonstrating performances for the first time. Tourist floats also added some charm. The Chinese Spring Festival Carnival in Paris has become a major, extraordinary early spring event in Paris every year.