THE biggest event on the Chinese calendar will be celebrated on February 17 and the Bendigo Chinese Association, Golden Dragon Museum and Bull Street Traders want Bendigo to help them celebrate.
The Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rat, will be welcomed with a fun-filled evening
including the a parade into Bull Street by the Bendigo Chinese
Association Lion, Dragon and Plum Blossom Girls dance teams.
Bull Street traders will decorate their shopfronts with traditional Chinese knots, red cloth and couplets while the town hall will provide the stunning backdrop to a range of performances on stage.
The Golden Dragon Museum will run zodiac mask workshops for the children and you can have your name written in traditional Chinese calligraphy.
The evening will end with tens of thousands of crackers to accompany the Southern Lions dance on stage.
The festivities will be held from 4pm until 7pm.

The Chinese Horoscope

According to legend, the Lord Buddha called all the animals to him
before he departed from this Earth – but only 12 came to bid him farewell. As a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived.
The animal which rules the year you were born in is believed to
influence your life.
As the Chinese say, ‘this is the animal that hides in your heart’.