Belfast Celebrates Chinese New Year and the Year of the Fire Horse

Belfast celebrated the Chinese New Year and the Year of the Fire Horse with vibrant cultural events, including lion dances, calligraphy workshops, and community bonding, highlighting the importance of embracing diverse traditions.

Chinese New Year 'a great time for celebration' in Belfast

A Chinese New Year event took place in Belfast on Saturday to mark the beginning of the Year of the Fire Horse. The celebration brought vibrant colours, music, and crafts to the city, with one participant describing it as "a great time for celebration".

Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, is observed not only by Chinese communities but also by Vietnamese, South Korean, and Thai populations.

The year 2026 marks the first Year of the Fire Horse since 1966, commencing on February 17.

One of the event organisers emphasised the importance of cultural bonding, while the Chinese consul in Belfast noted that Chinese, British, and Irish cultures "all love horses."

Calligraphy teacher Stella Tsang, who conducted workshops during the event, highlighted the family aspect of the celebration.

"The main thing is that people would join all together,"

"Even the children far away would come back home for dinner, it's a time when we meet each other."

She added that celebrating Chinese New Year in Belfast is "just the same."

A woman with white hair and glasses smiling — Stella Tsang taught visitors Chinese calligraphy at the event

'Chinese New Year is a great time for a celebration'

Séamas Ó Labhradha participated with a local Chinese lion dance team based in Belfast.

"They're all local Belfast people who are interested in Chinese culture and have taken up Chinese lion dancing," he explained.

Ó Labhradha shared his long-standing interest in Chinese culture.

"I'm going to go back a very long time, my mother loved Chinese culture and through her interest in Chinese culture, I got interested in Chinese art and through the art got interested in the language with the calligraphy and the whole culture then attracted me."

"Chinese New Year is a great time for a celebration and meeting friends you haven't seen for a while."

"Very much like our the traditional New Year celebrations we would have in Europe, it's the same sort of idea where you get together and you celebrate the end of an old year."

"Hopefully any ills we had in the old year they're left there and the new year we hope is going to be a lot better."

A man with grey hair smiling — Séamas Ó Labhradha, a drummer for the lion dancers, hopes the old year's ills will be left behind

'Celebrating and embracing the Chinese culture'

Thomas McHugh attended the event to celebrate the Chinese New Year and enjoy the festivities.

He expressed interest in participating in activities such as art decoration and sampling food.

"Just celebrating and embracing the Chinese culture,"

Woody, who was accompanied by his grandmother Lynn Long, said he came to see the "lion and dragon dance."

Lynn mentioned she had attended several Chinese New Year celebrations before.

A man with brown hair smiling and a woman with dark hair and glasses smiling — Thomas and Caitlin wanted to celebrate and embrace Chinese culture

A child with dark hair smiling and a woman with dark hair smiling — Woody and his grandmother Lynn there to see the "lion and dragon dance"

'All of us love horses'

The Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Belfast, Li Nan, described his attendance at the event as "great."

He praised ArtsEkta for their efforts in promoting not only Chinese culture but also other cultures.

"We're still in the Chinese New Year of the horse called the fire horse, which symbolises energy, power, strength and courage."

"I think this year carries the spirit for people's aspirations of peace, stability, happiness and prosperity,"

"So I wish everybody here in Northern Ireland, all communities, including Chinese communities, to have an even greater year of success in the Year of the Fire Horse."

"The horse is a very lovely creature in both Chinese, British and Irish culture. So all of us love horses. And this great animal actually is a kind of symbol for us, for Chinese people."

A man looking at the camera smiling, he has dark hair and glasses — The Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Belfast, Li Nan, wished "everybody here in Northern Ireland to have an even greater year of success"

'Important that the cultures bond with each other'

Dr Nisha Tandon OBE, chief executive of the event organisers ArtsEkta, commented on the significance of the event's location.

"It is the first Chinese New Year which we are doing in this building. So we are opening it to the public to come and enjoy the true culture of arts and dance and cinema and music."

She added that the event allows the public to interact with Chinese residents who have lived in Belfast for decades.

"I think it's very important that the cultures bond with each other".

A woman with dark hair and glasses smiling — Organiser Nisha Tandon

Year of the Fire Horse: What does this mean?

The Year of the Fire Horse results from the combination of one of the 12 zodiac animals and one of the five elements—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.

Each unique pairing carries distinct energy and recurs every 60 years.

In the Chinese zodiac, the horse symbolizes vitality and confidence, traits that may be intensified by the fire element, according to Chinese astrology experts.

However, in Japanese culture, the Fire Horse has a more ominous connotation. In 1966, the previous Year of the Fire Horse, Japan experienced a sharp decline in birth rates due to a superstition that women born in the Fire Horse year would bring bad luck to their families.