Chinese New Year Celebrations In Newcastle Upon Tyne

Parenting a seven-year-old as a mum over 40 comes with some unusual duties. These include keeping him fed, teaching him empathy, and bribing him with sweets to engage in cultural experiences. On Sunday (11th February 2024), I decided to tackle the last duty. I dragged Little C to the Chinese New Year celebrations in town. The rain, apparently, had been sent personally to test my waterproof mascara skills, and it did not disappoint.

I wanted Little C to see, hear and experience something outside our own traditions, rather than treating cultural diversity as something confined to a school worksheet.

Then came the Baozhu, strings of tiny firecrackers exploding in red-paper bursts. Little C jumped, I jumped, a toddler nearby went ballistic. It’s meant to drive away evil spirits. I’m convinced it also drives away your sense of personal dignity. Still, by the end, we were laughing so hard I almost forgot my hair was soaked through.

Stowell Street and Bath Lane were buzzing with traditional foods, calligraphy, music, and crafts. Little C sampled something custardy. He claimed it was “amazing.” He coloured in paper dragons and wandered into the You Meow Cat Café. This was his absolute highlight. Persian cats, Norwegian Forest cats, a Siberian Forest cat, and even an exotic Savannah. He was in heaven. I, meanwhile, spent £20 pretending fortune cookie advice (“Be careful with your money!”) wasn’t directed at me.

The pièce de résistance: red envelopes. Symbolising luck, prosperity, and protection, they were handed out generously to the children. It reminded me of our Persian eidee tradition. In this tradition, crisp new notes slip into small envelopes which is proof that generosity and joy look strikingly similar across cultures.

Watching Little C’s fascination, I felt that parenting over 40 has its perks: a better appreciation for tradition, the patience to survive crowds and rain, and the ability to laugh at firecrackers in puddles while secretly thinking about wine. Between dodging slow walkers, wet shoes, and my own perimenopausal eye-rolls, I realised that exposing children to cultural traditions isn’t just educational, it’s joyful, exhausting, hilarious, and utterly worth it.

Occasional stories, experiments, discoveries and rabbit holes from Saffron & Cyrus.