Chinese New Year

Saturday, the 17th of February saw the chinese new year being celebrated in Amsterdam. 2007 will be the year of the pig. Amsterdam, and especially the Zeedijk and the Nieuwmarkt were crowded. The festival was centered in the Nieuwmarkt square, with markets and food stalls, as well as a marquee with demonstrations on inside, plays, performances, and a display from the local kung fu group. The parade itself consisted of people from the local community, working in the chinese restaurants, or from the local kung fu group, enacting a lion going through the chinatown. The lion was played by two people (with people changing places all the time), the one in front sometimes jumped on the shoulders of the one behind. It started in the Nieuwmarkt, and went to Toko Dun Yong, where there was a firecracker display, before the lion took the offering of the shop, a cabbage hung from the first floor window. The lion then moved on along the Zeedijk, followed by a huge crowd of tourists and onlookers. The parade stopped at various points along the Zeedijk, giving an indication of who's a part of the chinese community. Each restaurant and shop had an offering to the lion, which was accepted and eaten by the two guys playing the lion. The parade went a long way beyond the Nieuwmarkt to a japanese restaurant which had the final firecracker display and offering before returning to the square.