Phuket.Net Announces Chinese New Year in Phuket

Online, October 19, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The festival celebrates the Year of the Dragon and will be augmented by the Old Phuket Festival, which is held each year in the Sino-Portuguese quarter of town.

There are 12 animal signs in the Chinese zodiac and the Dragon comes fifth. Thais with Chinese ancestry will close their businesses during the celebrations, even though Chinese New Year is not an official holiday.

Visitors will be able to pick up bargains in the shops and enjoy entertainment such as the famous Dragon Procession. A whole range of cultural events and celebrations will be held across the island, and local Chinese shrines and the Old Quarter of town will be especially busy.

The Chinese New Year festivities in Phuket are an ideal opportunity for sampling the local delicacies, as friends and family come together to share food and honour their ancestors, with some of the foodstuffs being considered lucky for the coming year.

Banners, flowers and trays of fresh fruit decorate Chinese homes at this time, as the whole of Phuket seems to explode in joyous colour, with red considered especially propitious.

The deafening noise of firecrackers will say goodbye to the old year and usher in the new one and at midnight the doors of every house will stand open to allow the old year to depart in peace.

With special airline and hotel deals, shopping discounts and a wide variety of food on offer, Chinese New Year in Phuket is something special.

Visitors to Phuket can choose from a wide range of accommodation, including hostels, hotels and guesthouses.