Chinese New Year in Chinatown

I never would have thought that Chinese New Year is celebrated in such a grand scale here in Melbourne. A couple of years ago, we brought little Lachlan to the city to watch the Lion and Dragon Dance procession on Little Burke Street. I was pregnant with Lucas and was in awe.

In Malaysia, we celebrate the new year with family and friends. We stayed indoors. We ate cookies and mandarin oranges. We gambled our red packet money away. The streets are usually quiet. All the shops closed. The streets empty, which is really really weird in an Asian country! No traffic jam!

But here in Melbourne, we walked along Little Burke Street shoulder to shoulder with thousands of other Melbournians. The streets are packed with people from all walks of life, Lion Dances accompanied by the gongs of drums and cymbals and the deafening sounds of firecrackers. What an auspicious cheer!

So this year, on the first day of Chinese New Year, we brought the two boys (and me pregnant AGAIN!) to the city. We took the train which made it an extra special experience for the boys. They loved the train ride!

They watched the procession in awe. I think they were a little bit stunned by the massive throng of people. They just watched in silence, and then covered their ears when the firecrackers blast away. We stayed for a couple of hours, and Lachlan finally asked if we could go home.

He couldn't wait till the next day, so he could tell his teacher and friends at kinder about his experiences. And up till today, the boys are still playing tickets and trains, pretending to be ticket inspectors. I think they were more thrilled with the train ride.

Anyways, here's a clip of the Dragon Dance taken with my little Canon Ixus 80IS.