How to celebrate Chinese New Year in London 2025

With Chinese New Year just around the corner, here are our tips for celebrating the Year of the Snake in London.
Sigrun Tomicki
Written by Sigrun Tomicki Edited by Kirstine Spicer 05 February 2025
Dancers perform the Dragon Dance at Greenwich Peninsula surrounded by crowds of people and with big buildings in the background.
Celebrate Chinese New Year and watch some Dragon Dance at Greenwich Peninsula. Image Courtesy of LCA

Experience rich traditions as you immerse yourself in an atmosphere of dance, stage performances, music and a sea of flavours. Check out the fabulous decorations in Chinatown and watch the Chinese New Year parade or some lion dance performances throughout the day.

Chinese New Year in Chinatown London

Festivities and events take place throughout the city, but Chinatown is the hotspot. Spread over 11 streets, Chinatown is home to more than 60 restaurants, bars, shops and businesses. It offers a unique fusion of traditional and modern experiences and cuisine. It is also home to the New Year's Parade, with Europe's largest assembly of Chinese lions and dragons.

What is Chinese New Year?

Chinese New Year always falls between late January and mid-February and has a history of over 3,500 years. In 2025, Chinese New Year falls on 29 January. It is also called the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival and is the most important festival in Chinese culture. It celebrates the beginning of the new year on the lunisolar Chinese calendar. Each year has a different zodiac sign assigned to it which sits in a 12-year rotating cycle. This year stands in the year of the snake.

The festival usually lasts 15 to 16 days, beginning with the new moon and ending with the first full moon. Celebrations usually include fireworks, parades, banquets and red lanterns.

Families get together and celebrate with large meals and gift giving. People eat food that symbolises good luck and prosperity, such as whole fish, eggs and bamboo shoots. Children receive red envelopes filled with money, and people hang lanterns in temples and carry them in parades. A colourful dragon is carried through the streets by dancers.

A close up of a whiite plate with a whole Turbot fish with green and red garnish on it on a decorated table.

What to eat for Chinese New Year

Chinese cuisine offers so much variety. There is much to choose from, it is impossible to list all the dishes. Celebrate the year of the Snake with dishes that symbolise luck and prosperity. Below you find a selection of typical dishes eaten during the New Year celebration.

  • Long noodles – symbolising longevity and good fortune.
  • Dumplings – pork dumplings are said to bring good luck and prosperity.
  • Fish – a whole fish served symbolises wealth and abundance.
  • Rice Balls – sweet rice balls called tangyan symbolise family.
  • Chicken – the sound of chicken is similar to family and represents family and harmony.
  • New Year cake – niangao, a glutinous rice cake, represents a higher income or position.
  • Other dishes – eggs, lobster because of its red (luck) colour, roast pork, duck with peaches, and tofu.

Nian Gao served on a white plate with some garnish next to it in a black basked standing on a black table with Chinese decorations.

What’s happening in London?

Chinatown lion dance and parade schedule

In Chinatown, watch mesmerising lion dance performances from 11am to 5pm on 1 February. The performers bring luck and ward off evil spirits in a colourful street spectacle. The Lunar New Year Parade takes place on 2 February with colourful floats and over 50 teams of performers, including Europe's largest assembly of Chinese lions and dragons. The parade starts east of Trafalgar Square and ends in Chinatown.

Chinese New Year at the Horniman museum 

The Horniman Museum celebrates the Lunar New Year with an evening of immersive music, calligraphy workshops, tea tastings and a snake talisman workshop on the 6 Feb 2025.

Other celebrations

Camden is holding a Lunar New Year Festival on Saturday 1 February from 1pm to 5pm, with a festive market, cultural performances, workshops and more.

On the Greenwich Peninsula, a celebration of East and Southeast Asian culture and traditions takes place from 12pm to 4pm on 1 February 2025, including lion dances, handicrafts workshops, live music and a traditional feast of delicious food, unique crafts and community traders.

Dancers perform the Dragon Dance at Greenwich Peninsula surrounded by crowds of people and with big buildings in the background.

Behind the scenes in Chinatown – “the new year celebration is all about family” 

With so many celebrations happening across the city, how often do we think about the people behind the scenes who make it all happen? I spoke to Marina Lai and Geoffery Leong, two professionals in the food and drink sector, who kindly gave me an insight into how people working in the hospitality industry celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Marina Lai, co-owner of Lotus Garden and Golden Phoenix

Born in London, Marina moved back from Luxembourg to take over her father's business with her mother after his passing. I asked her how she celebrates the new year: “New year's celebrations are a bit like Christmas. People get together with family and friends of all ages, not just adults. Each day has its own theme, the new year celebration is all about family. As second-generation immigrants, we do not just spend most of our time at the restaurant like our very hardworking parents who left us with a strong foundation and roots in the community, but we make sure that we spend more time with our family."

Marina went on telling me that restaurants are not just about food, "they are about people and communities, and they are a place for everyone to come together”. I asked Marina to tell me more about the hopes and dreams for the year ahead. She said: “This year I want to volunteer in schools and talk about Chinese New Year and show the customs and traditions we have and create a sense of acceptance and for the children to learn more about other cultures and their traditions.” She also mentioned that she wants to reach out to more communities in general.

Geoffery Leong, founder of Dumplings’ Legend and Leong’s Legend

With roots in Hong Kong, Geoffrey moved to London with his family. After working in his family's businesses, he opened his own restaurants. He tells me that the whole family gets together for the new year celebrations. His wife, children and cousins all meet up with the extended family. “On the first day we celebrate with a prosperity message for the family and financial wellbeing. We give out red envelopes with lucky money and hand them out to loved ones in times of generosity. We eat food with similar names like mushrooms and see moss, we eat whole fish with head and tail and we go to see the lion dancers and drummers who chase away evil spirits."

I was curious to find out what his hopes and dreams for the new year are: “I wish everyone prosperity.” He tells me how important flavours are to him and how he and his staff want to bring different dishes to the table. He says: “We hope for good business investments and cater for different dietary requirements offering the freshest and best ingredients, as it is important to me to be inclusive. We are looking forward to new projects such as opening a dumpling restaurant in Chancery Lane. We hope to open more sites and continue with new ideas and projects."

Celebrating for the first time

I feel very fortunate that I was able to get an insight into the Chinese New Year from different angles. I love Chinatown and visit from time to time, but cannot wait to participate in the festivities this year and see the parade, dancers and performers for the first time.

If possible I will dress in red and make sure that I try some of the typical new year dishes. Chinese New Year here I come!