Happy Friday, and Happy New Year!
Don’t worry; we’re not a month late (rest assured we’ve always got our finger on the pulse here at JAM!)
I am, of course, referring to Chinese New Year, for which celebrations start today.
The Chinese Zodiac is comprised of a twelve-year cycle of animal signs, with each New Year relating to a new animal. Each sign supposedly carries significant meaning for both the twelve months ahead, and those born in that year.
The end of January sees us entering the Year of the Horse, and with this event comes good news, as the energetic and communicative ‘spirit’ of the horse sign can only mean good things for the world of PR!
(Image – Fan Pop, 2014)
Last week we were thinking about reasons to be cheerful in 2014, and we’ve got fresh promise for the year ahead after discovering what the Horse sign has in store for the next twelve months…
Apparently, the Year of the Horse is great for communications, and those born in the year will be particularly witty, as well as excellent communicators. Great news! This means thousands of babies destined for PR jobs will enter the world this year. Be sure to send JAM your CVs in twenty odd years, guys!
Totally born for the job… (Image – Career FAQs, 2014)
The horse sign also stands for leadership, energy, prosperity and positivity, and the next twelve months are said to bring about particularly good luck.
So, there’s a lot to celebrate about! And festivities for this event are big news indeed, as Manchester gears up for a weekend full of revelry – the North’s biggest Chinese New Year celebrations, in fact.
Head down to the Chinese food market in St. Ann’s Square to sample an array of delicious treats from Chinatown’s restaurants, and enjoy a drink or two at the pop-up Tiger beer bar.
The main event comes in the form of the Dragon Parade – on Sunday a 175 ft long dragon will lead the parade from Albert Square to Chinatown, ending with a huge fireworks finale. Last year, the spectacle drew in a huge crowd of around 75,000.
See here here for a full run down of the weekend’s events.
Xin Nian Kuai Le (Happy New Year), and we’ll see you in the Year of the Horse!
(Image – Creative Tourist, 2013)
