Southampton Celebrates Chinese New Year 2023 南安普敦慶祝農曆新年 - 南安普敦華人協會 Chinese Association of Southampton

南安普敦迎接水兔年

歲月如流，我們將與壬寅虎年告別，迎來新的癸卯兔年。2023年兔年春節，南安普敦華人協會滿懷期待，期待你們——親愛的南安社區英國友人、華人僑胞和會員朋友們一同相聚，在南安市中心歡歌起舞，大展宏「兔」。

南安普敦華人協會與南安普敦市議會、Westquay 購物中心和約翰漢薩德畫廊合作，在南安普敦市中心舉辦 2023 年農曆新年慶祝。我們將在中國農曆的第一天，即 1月22號星期日，在南安普敦市政廳廣場和 Westquay 購物中心迎接水兔年。然後，我們將在中國農曆正月十五日即 2 月 5 號星期日在南安普敦市政廳廣場和約翰漢薩德畫廊慶祝中國元宵節。兔在中國文化中是長壽、和平與繁榮的象徵。舞龍、舞獅、功夫、太極、中國/亞洲舞蹈和音樂，以及一系列文化工作坊將在南安普敦與公眾分享。

傳播中國傳統文化是南安普敦華人協會的宗旨之一，兔年，我們從中國文字中尋找力量。「兔」在中國是一個美好的字眼。由「兔」字派生出的漢字都很有特點。例如，「逸」是一個會意字，兔子跑得快稱為「逸」。「兔」與十二地支中的「卯」對應，漢代王充《論衡》說：「卯，兔也。」二者組成我們的生肖「卯兔」。在十二時辰中，「卯」時是指早晨5－7時。因此，「卯」表示春意，代表黎明，充滿著無限生機。兔與「途」諧音，故有玉兔迎福、前途（兔）似錦、大展宏圖（兔）等吉祥寓意。

據古書《瑞應圖》記載：「赤兔大瑞，白兔中瑞」。那時，各地發現白兔之後，多要載歌載舞獻給朝廷，顯示君主賢明、海內大治。來吧，朋友們！2023年1月22日，我們在南安市政廳廣場，Westquay Shopping Centre 等您，讓我們一起載歌載舞，慶祝中國兔年的到來！然後，我們將在 2023 年 2 月 5 日星期日以元宵節結束為期 15 天的中國新年慶祝活動！

Southampton Welcomes the Year of the Water Rabbit in 2023

Time flies, we will bid farewell to the Year of the Tiger and usher in a new Chinese Year of the Rabbit. In the Spring Festival of the Rabbit Year in 2023, the Chinese Association of Southampton is full of expectations and looks forward to celebratig the annual Chinese New Year with you. Dear friends in the UK, overseas Chinese and members of the Chinese community, let us gather together at Southampton City Centre, singing and dancing as well as making a ‘Grand Rabbit Plan’.

Chinese Association of Southampton is in partnership with Southampton City Council, Westquay Shopping Centre and John Hansard Gallery to host the Chinese New Year Festival 2023 at Southampton City Centre. We will welcome the Year of the Water Rabbit on the first day of the Chinese Lunar calendar that is Sunday 22/1/23 at Southampton Guildhall Square and Westquay Shopping Centre. We will then celebrate the Chinese Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month in the Chinese Lunar calendar that is Sunday 5/2/23 at Southampton Guildhall Square and John Hansard Gallery. Rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace and prosperity in the Chinese culture. Dragon dance, lion dance, Kungfu, Taichi, Chinese/Asian dance and music, as well as a range of cultural workshops will be available for the general public at Southampton.

Promoting the Chinese culture is one of the aims of the Chinese Association of Southampton. In the Year of the Rabbit, let us find strength from the Chinese characters as follow. “Rabbit” is a beautiful word in China. The Chinese characters derived from the word “rabbit” are very distinctive. For example, “逸” is a character formed using the ‘combined ideogram’ method, which is one of the six methods to form a Chinese character. A rabbit that runs fast is called “逸” with is a combination of ‘run走’ and ‘rabbit兔’. “Rabbit” corresponds to “Mao卯” in the twelve earthly branches. Wang Chong of the Han Dynasty said in “Lunheng”: “卯Mao is 兔rabbit.” The two form our zodiac “卯兔Mao Rabbit”. Among the twelve hours, “Mao” refers to 5-7 o’clock in the morning. Therefore, “Mao” means spring, represents dawn, and is full of infinite vitality. “兔Rabbit” and “途path” are homophonic, so there are auspicious meanings such as ‘the jade rabbit welcomes blessings’, as well as the ‘Front-Path is bright’ (Future = Front-Path = Front-Rabbit; 前兔=前途). Hence the ‘Front-Rabbit is bright’ meabs ‘the Future is bright’.

According to the ancient book “Rui Ying Tu 瑞應圖”: “The white rabbit is auspicious, while the red rabbit is the most auspicious”. At that time, after the white rabbits were found in various places, they often sang and danced to the court to show the wiseness of the monarch and the great rule of the country. Dear friends, let us sing and dance together to celebrate the arrival of the Chinese Year of the Rabbit on Sunday the 22nd of January 2023 at Southampton Guildhall Square and Westquay Shopping Centre. We will then conclude the 15-day Chinese New Year celebration with a Chinese Lantern Festival on Sunday the 5th of February 2023!

Registration at: https://cny23soton.eventbrite.co.uk

Ticket 1: Sunday 22/1/23 (10:30am – 11:30am) Guildhall Square

Dragon and lion dance at Guildhall Square.
Then a parade at 11:15am to Westquay Shopping Centre.

Ticket 2: Sunday 22/1/23 (12pm – 4pm) Westquay Shopping Centre

Chinese New Year celebration inside Westquay Shopping Centre.
Dragon and lion dance, Chinese dance and musics, Taichi and Kungfu, community performances.
Workshops on Chinese calligraphy, craft, paper-cutting and rabbit-moulding.
Seats are available for VIPs and performers.

Ticket 2a: Sunday 22/1/23 (12pm – 3:30pm) Westquay Shopping Centre

Cartoon portrait painting (30 spaces only) inside Westquay Shopping Centre.

Ticket 3: Sunday 5/2/23 (2pm – 4pm) Guildhall Square and John Hansard Gallery

Chinese lantern festival at Guildhall Square.
Dragon and lion dance: we will have many dragons and lions.
Audience are welcome to try dragon and lion dances.
There will be a parade of dragons and lions from Guildhall Square to Westquay Shopping Centre entrance and back.
Chinese dance and music, Taichi and Kungfu.
Workshops on Chinese chess, lantern-making, paper-cutting and rabbit-moulding.

這個一年一度的中國新年慶祝活動和元宵節活動完全由位於南安普敦或漢普郡的不同企業和個人資助。特別感謝南安普頓大學孔子學院、中國學生學者聯誼會、武壇功夫學校、忠信舞獅隊、藝術亞洲、伊斯特利和南安普頓亞洲社區以及亞洲福利文化協會。我們也要感謝所有贊助商，他們在過去廿多年裡幫助我們在南安普敦舉辦了盛大的中國新年慶祝活動。如果您有興趣為這次慶祝活動提供幫助、支持或捐款，無論大小，我們都非常感謝。

我們的銀行資料：
南安普頓華人協會
排序代碼：40-42-19
戶口號碼： 91367269
參考：CNY2023 (然後是您的名字)

Our annual Chinese New Year celebration event and the Lantern festival are purely funded by different businesses and individuals based in Southampton or Hampshire. Special thanks to Southampton University Confucius Institute, Chinese Students and Scholar Association (CSSA), Wutan Kungfu School, Waterside Lion Dance, Art Asia, Eastleigh and Southampton Asian Community as well as Asian Welfare and Cultural Association. We also wanted to thank all our sponsors who have helped make this wonderful Chinese New Year celebration event in Southampton possible for the past 20+ years. If you are interested in offering your help, support or making a donation towards this CNY celebration event and the Lantern festival activity, small or large, we would be very thankful. Our bank details are：

Chinese Association of Southampton
HSBC Sort Code: 40-42-19
Account No: 91367269
Reference: CNY2023 (your name)

2023 年 1 月 22 日週日在 Westquay 舉行的慶祝活動節目表可點下方圖像下載。
Programme for the Sunday 22/1/2023 celebration at Westquay can be downloaded by clicking the image below.

2023 年 2 月 5 日週日在 Guildhall Square 和 John Hansard Gallery 舉行的元宵節慶祝活動節目表可點下方圖像下載。
Programme for the Sunday 5/2/2023 Chinese Lantern Festival celebration at Guildhall Square and John Hansard Gallery can be downloaded by clicking the image below.

Sponsors and Supporters 贊助商和支持者

如果您想知道有關贊助和合作的更多詳細信息，請聯繫我們。特別感謝以下我們的讚助商和支持者。
Please contact us if you would like to get more details on sponsorship and collaboration. Special thanks to our sponsors and supporters below.