How to celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year with kids in London 2025
Chinese New Year in London is a fun, colourful extravaganza, and during February, there are lots of brilliant events on in London to celebrate Chinese new year with kids that are great for the whole family to enjoy. Read on for all the best ideas to celebrate Lunar New Year with kids in London.
Biggest Lunar New Year Celebration in London
In 2025 Chinese New Year falls on Wednesday 29th January which marks the official start of the new lunar calendar and this year according to the Chinese calendar – it’s the Year of the Snake in Chinese astronomy. The last Year of the traditional Snake was in 2013, and you’re known as a dragon if you were born in 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 and 2025. This date differs every year – so, for example, Chinese New Year 2023 fell on January 22, and in 2022 it was on February 1. Chinese New Year is based on the lunisolar calendar – which is why it’s sometimes called Lunar New Year, too. Each year, Chinese New Year is celebrated at the second new moon following the Winter Solstice. Apparently, people born next year will be fantastic leaders, charismatic, confident and have natural good luck in abundance.
When is the Chinese New Year’s Eve Main Parade in London?
The parade this year will be on Sunday February 2nd 2025. It typically begins at roughly 10am in the West End at Duncannon Street before heading though Covent Garden and onto Charing Cross Road and then it heads along Shaftesbury Avenue and into Chinatown before finishing off with a lions’ eye-dotting ceremony. During the afternoon and into the evening there are Lion dances and main stage performances in Trafalgar Square between 12pm and 6pm.There’ll also be stalls and dragon dancers on Gerrard Place and Newport Court in Chinatown London. If you head to Shaftesbury Avenue during the festivities, you may witness a showcase of martial arts, including Tai Chi Chuan. It can get very busy, so it’s worth keeping an eye on little kids so they don’t become overwhelmed. The day usually ends with a spectacular firework display, which lights up Trafalgar Square to mark the end of the festivities.
Where is the best place to go to celebrate Chinese New Year in London?
Plan your days out with this list of things to do with kids in London during the Lunar New Year 2025. There are lots of Chinese New Year festivities planned including a packed weekend of Chinese culture programmes at the National Maritime Musuem, storytelling sessions at the National Gallery and Lunar New Year celebrations at the British Library.
At the Greenwich Peninsula, there’s lots of family activities to celebrate Chinese New Year happening from on the 1st February. There are craft workshops, jewellery workshops, live performances and whole host of arty activities that will suit families with older kids too. We love the sound of the Chinese woodblock printing. Check out the whole programme of events here. It’s leading up to the big event on the day of lunar new year celebrations: the FREE Dragon Chinese new year Parade from 1 pm on the 1st of February. Find out all the details here. It promises to be a colourful extravaganza with dragon performances and Chinese music.
Back again for 2025, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich has a whole host of events and activities to celebrate Chinese New Year, from workshops to craft activities such as paper folding and creating your own dragon. There’s plenty to keep the whole family involved. Most of the workshops are free but require booking. Check out their website here for more details. On the 3rd of February, they have four different performances at 11am, 12.30pm, 2pm and 3.30pm to celebrate the year of the Dragon with a range of incredible performances from local groups.This year’s performances and main festivities include a Taiwanese ribbon dance, Korean harp, a martial arts demonstration and – of course – the magnificent lion dancers!
Chinese New Year Events in China Town
Many people will head to London’s chinatown to continue the biggest Chinese New Year celebrations at this time of year with delicious food and to try a dim sum platter restaurants. However, precede with caution, the restaurants get booked up months in advance and it becomes very busy.
There’s plenty of free events to celebrate lunar New Year happening in Hackney including a celebration Saturday 01.02.2025, from 11:00 to 1pm, at Haggerston School, Weymouth Terrace. The event, hosted by Hackney-based East Asian carnival arts organisation Jun Mo Generations, commemorates the Year of the Dragon which begins on the 1st February. The celebration will feature traditional dances and performances from Asian culture, including Lion dance performances and majestic Dragons dances, an Umbrella dance, a Bell dance, flag rotations, plus live music, martial arts displays and a craft-making workshop.
From 4.30pm on Thursday 30th January, The Brunswick will be celebrating the Year of the Snake with a range of FREE spectacular Chinese New Year performances and colourful parades at the centre for all to enjoy. They’ll be dragon performances, stilt walkers and you can try out some of the fantastic Asian cuisine at the street market stores, food stalls and bubble tea shops that have there too.
On 11th February 2025, Goldsmiths Confucius Institute for Dance and Performance will host its annual Chinese New Year Celebrations in at Goldsmiths, University of London in SE14 with a special Chinese New Year Gala Show and Exhibition to draw in the year of the dragon.
This year they will welcome the Year of the Dragon with an evening of exciting performances, interactive stalls and delicious food. There is also a chance to see China: A Consolidated History, which will showcase artworks about China’s long and illustrious history. Find out more here.
Hope this is giving you plenty of options to help make Lunar New Year 2025 really memorable for you and your kids. Hope you have fun celebrating Chinese New Year with your family! If you like this post, you’ll love more ideas of things to do in London with kids. If you’re visiting London during half term, you’ll love our ideas for places to visit during February half term in London 2025.
Looking for other fun places to visit in London? Try our ideas of museums to visit with kids in London.
