(LI MIN / CHINA DAILY)

Lion dances, red envelopes, paper-cutting and delicious treats — all essential elements of Spring Festival — will not only be witnessed in China in the coming days. Major celebrations are planned in the United States and the United Kingdom.

They will feature at shopping complexes, theme parks and museums across the US as these attractions plan to impress diverse audiences by celebrating one of the most important Asian festivals.

Elysa Marden, vice-president of Arts Brookfield for Brookfield Properties in New York, said: “We like to diversify our programming, so there is something for everyone, ensuring that we reach numerous communities.”

For seven years, the organization has presented family-friendly performances at Brookfield Place, a high-end shopping destination in Lower Manhattan.

This year, it is bringing a taste of Spring Festival to the Big Apple, with lion dances, martial arts demonstrations and traditional Chinese dancing in partnership with the New York Chinese Cultural Center. 

Marden said: “The Lunar New Year celebrations have become an annual favorite for Asian communities as well as the community in Lower Manhattan, attracting up to 4,300 people to the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place.”

New York’s newly opened Hudson Yards complex is featuring Chinese classical and folk dancing along with lion dances. During Chinese Lunar New Year, visitors will give gifts of money in red envelopes decorated with lucky symbols or auspicious messages.

Shoppers at Hudson Yards will receive special prizes and a chance to win gift vouchers after spending a certain amount.

Joining in are stores such as fashion retailer Tory Burch, cosmetics brand Kiehl’s, lifestyle outlet MUJI, as well as restaurants, offering exclusive deals and Spring Festival collections.

Retail giant Macy’s is taking the celebrations to six locations nationwide, with special in-store events and deals. Its two stores in Herald Square and Flushing, New York, as well as three in California and one in Hawaii, are all preparing to welcome the Year of the Rat with lion dances, cooking demonstrations, giveaways, and more.

Jose Gamio, senior director of multicultural community engagement at Macy’s, which first celebrated Spring Festival 10 years ago, said: “We are thrilled to highlight the diverse cultures of our customers, communities and colleagues by celebrating Lunar New Year across the country.”

South Coast Plaza, the largest shopping center on the West Coast of the US, has an equally long history of celebrating the festival with extensive programs. Special performances and displays will be staged for two consecutive weekends at the retail hub, accompanied by free gifts, store and window displays, and exclusive offers.

Disney Adventure Park and Universal Studios Hollywood, also in California, are marking Spring Festival by dressing some signature characters in Chinese attire and staging performances featuring well-known China-related characters such as Mulan and Kung Fu Panda.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse will be dressed in rat costumes designed by Chinese couturier Guo Pei.

Disney’s Lunar New Year highlights include art walls to educate visitors about Spring Festival, featuring amusing incidents and unique stories from the different cultures that celebrate it. 

Lunar New Year decorations are sold in the streets of San Francisco, US. (LI JIANGUO / XINHUA)

A similar approach is being taken by museums across the US, who are presenting special programs and educational events.

Julie Marie Seibert, assistant educator for family programs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, said: “Each Spring Festival, we develop surprise, multimodal activities with artists, performers and arts organizations to connect visitors to a broader cultural community.”

The museum has been hosting Spring Festival events for a decade, attracting more than 5,000 visitors every year.

“Through these activities, participants enjoy, learn and discover our galleries and broaden or deepen their understanding of cultural traditions represented in our collections. Families will have the opportunity to learn about communities across the globe that celebrate Lunar New Year,” Seibert added.

Marden said her organization has “received positive feedback from the diverse audiences that attend Brookfield Place events, who say they appreciate experiencing different cultures”.

Lion dance performances, which appear to be especially popular among all the events staged in the US, have been a favorite with both children and adults, Marden added.

“You can still enjoy the intricate and brightly colored costumes, interesting movements and drum beats, even if you don’t know the meaning behind the lion dance — that it is chasing away evil spirits to bring good luck and fortune,” she said.

Meanwhile, in the UK, the National Gallery in London, near the British capital’s Chinatown, is preparing to celebrate Spring Festival on Jan 26.

Hundreds of thousands of people are also expected to flock that day to annual celebrations in Chinatown, Trafalgar Square and the West End, which organizers claim are the largest outside Asia.

Zoe Bates, family and children’s programmer for learning and national programs at the National Gallery, which is situated in Trafalgar Square, said: “Chinese New Year is an opportunity to celebrate the location of the gallery and its proximity to our surrounding neighborhood of Chinatown — positioning the gallery as a backdrop to and extension of the Trafalgar Square celebrations.”

Over the past five years, the National Gallery has staged family events linked to Spring Festival, and it views these as an opportunity to attract new audiences, Bates said. This year, activities will feature Chinese-themed storytelling, dancing, paper-cutting and dumpling-making.

In Greenwich, southeast London, the National Maritime Museum is celebrating Spring Festival for the 19th year. Visitors to the institute’s Traders Gallery will learn of the struggles between Britain and China in the tea trade.

Georgina Sheehan, the museum’s assistant press officer, said: “Celebrating Chinese New Year allows us to engage visitors with Chinese objects and stories within the collection and encourage local families to celebrate Chinese history and tradition.”

Sheehan added that the celebratory event has become more popular with families traveling to London to join in. This year, it will be staged on Jan 25, when lion dances and singing and dancing by the Guizhou Song and Dance Ensemble will be presented. Visitors can take part in craft workshops, origami rat-making, as well as Chinese storytelling, while playing and learning about the history of mahjong.

An art workshop will be held aboard the clipper Cutty Sark, inspired by the vessel’s voyages to China.

At the start of next month, traditional and contemporary performances to celebrate Spring Festival will be held at the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, in western England. Stalls will feature elements of Chinese culture, the institution’s cafe will put on a special menu, and Chinese goods will be on sale. Other activities will include rat-searching games and workshops.

Karen Garvey, the museum’s events engagements officer, said Spring Festival celebrations have been held at the institution since 2003, and have evolved from relatively small-scale activities to a huge event involving hundreds of performers, activity organizers and student volunteers.

She said audiences are becoming increasingly diverse. “In previous years, we had many Chinese and Caucasian visitors, but now the event is additionally attracting people with Southeast Asian, African and Middle Eastern heritage.”

Garvey said the celebration also helps raise the museum’s profile. “This year, the mayor of Bristol and the lord mayor are planning to attend. Bristol is twinned with Guangzhou (capital of Guangdong province) so it makes it even more fitting that we celebrate Chinese New Year.”

The celebrations at UK museums are part of a series of cultural events being staged nationwide to herald Spring Festival. 

Sarah Wang, institute manager at the Confucius Institute at the University of Aberdeen, said Spring Festival this year is a unique and special occasion in Scotland. It falls on Jan 25, when Burns Night, the traditional celebration for legendary Scottish poet Robert Burns, is held. She said the two celebrations have not coincided for more than 70 years.

This year, the institute’s Chinese New Year Gala will have a Scottish theme, including a Burns poetry recital in English and Mandarin, a Chinese boy playing the bagpipes, and a performance of Burns’ song Auld Lang Syne in English and Mandarin, Wang said.

In the past year, China and the UK saw closer cultural and people-to-people exchanges. 

According to data provided by Liu Xiaoming, Chinese ambassador to the UK, for a China Daily article published on Jan 6, some 168 flights operated between the two countries every week last year. As a result, China has become an important source of overseas tourists visiting the UK.

Teresa Liu from Los Angeles contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at nancykong@chinadailyusa.com