ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

By SAW YAN NAING | Preparations are in full swing for Chinese New Year celebrations in Burma. The New Year is officially observed next Monday, but already Chinese residents of Rangoon and Mandalay are gearing up for four days of celebrations starting this weekend.

One Rangoon resident, Thu Zar, reported that traditional dragon dances were being performed before big crowds in the city’s Chinatown. Stalls were selling traditional products and food.

The lion dances will be performed by 10 amateur groups through this weekend and over the following two days, with an awards presentation on January 30, according to a report from Rangoon by the Chinese news agency Xinhua.

One of the organizers, Zhou Baofu, told Xinhua that the lion dance performances in Rangoon could result in appearances by Burmese-Chinese teams at international events.

In Mandalay, Burmese performers such as rock musicians Lay Phyu and Zaw Win Htut will appear at New Year concerts.

A Mandalay businessman said hoardings wishing people a “Happy Chinese New Year” had appeared for the first time in the city.

Chinese living along the Sino-Burmese border will also be celebrating this weekend.

According to the Chinese zodiac, it will be the Year of the Ox—an animal symbolizing calm, hard work, resolution and tenacity. It could be anything but a calm year, however, because the ox will be in conflict with a fabled Chinese deity—and that’s considered a bad omen.