Oink Oink! Chinese New Year 2007

We're not telling you porkies - according to the Chinese calendar we're just beginning the Year of the Pig (also known as the Year of the Boar, a wild pig).

Over the next couple of weeks, Chinese people around Britain will be welcoming the New Year with parades, festivals and parties.

Red is a lucky colour for Chinese people, so you'll see lots of red decorations, masks and artwork at New Year - like this wonderful red and gold lion mask.

© National Centre for Early Music, York.

The Chinese Lunar (Moon) Calendar groups years into sets of twelve. Each of the twelve years is named after an animal.

On February 18 2007 the Year of the Pig began, taking over from the Year of the Dog.

Here's a Chinese papercut of a pig, from Bristol's City Museum and Art Gallery.

© Bristol's City Museum and Art Gallery, 2006.

Legend has it that the Lord Buddha ordered all the animals to come to him before he left the earth.

Only twelve showed up! As a reward he named a year after each animal, in the order they arrived.

Chinese people all over the world have been getting ready for New Year for the last month - cooking special food, decorating their homes and buying presents for friends and family.

They also send New Year cards, like this one.

© The Museum of East Asian Art

At Chinese New Year celebrations you can often see a Dragon Dance. Performers dance under a big dragon puppet which is decorated in bright colours.

Here's how to make your own dragon puppet:
How To Make A Chinese Dragon Puppet.

The last day of the Chinese New Year is celebrated with a festival called the Lantern Festival. In Chinese it is called the Yuan Xiao Festival. It's celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.

If you'd like to make your own lantern, take a look at our story How To Make A Paper Lantern.

Lots of museums and galleries put on special events to celebrate Chinese New Year or have special shows of objects or art from China. Here are just a few, listed on our grown-ups' site, 24 Hour Museum:

Chinese Glass Gallery at Bristol's City Museum and Art Gallery
Pig Out at The Museum of East Asian Art, Bath
Cherish: Chinese Families In Britain at the National Portrait Gallery, London
Animals Of The Chinese New Year, storytelling at the Natural History Museum, London
Chinese New Year half-term events at the British Museum, London

If your family celebrates Chinese New Year we'd love to hear all about it. You can use our Get In Touch page to send in pictures or letters and e-mails.

Happy New Year!