DMU's Confucius Institute celebrates the Year of the Pig

Xin Nian Kuai Le! Today is the most important day in the Chinese calendar – the Chinese New Year.

2019 is the Year of the Pig, associated with good fortune, honesty and wealth. It is celebrated with fireworks, feasting and fun celebrations, which begin the night before and continue for 15 days. 

Teachers from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU)’s Confucius Institute, which is dedicated to sharing Chinese culture and language, have been sharing what Chinese New Year means and how it is celebrated at events across the university and in the city.

Confucius Institute Director Yingjun Yang said: “The Year of the Pig is symbolic in Chinese culture. It means good fortune and a blessed life.”

DMU’s Spring Festival celebrations began with a party at The Venue@DMU last week and continue tomorrow (Wednesday 6 February) in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Humanities. 

On Saturday, the DMUCI staff will be at Leicester’s New Walk Museum for a free Chinese New Year celebration with Lion dancing, Tai Chi fan dancing, calligraphy activities, music and crafts.

The CI’s Mandarin students, which include DMU staff and students, as well as members of the community, have been learning traditional greetings and sayings as part of the free language classes run at the Institute. 

Amarachi Amango, studying HRM, said: “I’m planning to do a placement year in China working in HR and found out about these classes. Mandarin is quite difficult but we have a very good teacher!”

The Chinese New Year event on Saturday runs from 11am to 4pm. It will include songs from Beijing Opera and a Chinese choir, Chinese musical instrument performances, and Taiji fan, boxing and Qipao shows.

The Confucius Institute will be delivering a series of free Chinese crafts workshops including calligraphy and paper cutting. They will be joined by members of the local Chinese community who will demonstrate traditional arts and crafts.

 On stage in the Victorian Gallery, guests will be able to enjoy performances from Chinese band Euphoria, lion dance performance and martial arts displays from ITSWA, and a screening of the documentary 'Made in China', about the Chinese community in Leicester.