Lions roam free downtown

Sydney will roar to life this month with lions roaming the city’s streets as part of the City of Sydney’s Chinese New Year Festival.

The festivities will be kicked off with youths dressed in flamboyantly decorated lion costumes moving swiftly through the crowds, bestowing good luck to all local businesses.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said crowds are always mesmerised by the spectacular performances as the lions dance in perfect harmony to the beat of the drums.

“Lion dancing is a Chinese ritual performed for over 1,000 years and the City has proudly upheld this longstanding tradition throughout our festival’s 18-year history,” the Lord Mayor said.

“Our Chinese New Year celebrations are the largest outside Mainland China and in all the excitement, there will be something for everyone.”

The event originates from a popular Chinese legend, in which a monk envisions a lion will deter all China’s coming catastrophes.

Every new year, garish lion masks continue to ward off evil spirits, while deafening firecrackers make powerful deterrents to the incoming year’s misfortunes.

So join the traditional Chinese lion dancers this year as they take their ritualised dancing to the Sydney streets to bring both good fortune and prosperity for the new year.