Festivities traditionally take place on and around Nieuwmarkt Square.
Chinese New Year is the most important holiday of the year for the Chinese. It falls on a different date each year, ranging from late January to mid-February.
Chinese New Year - also called Spring Festival - doesn't begin and end on a single weekend. Based on the Chinese calendar, it is usually celebrated for multiple days, not only on the day itself, but festivities can occur on weekends before or after that date.
The holiday concludes with the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated on the last day of New Year's festivities.
Many celebratory rituals of Chinese New Year deal with luck and abundance.
Food plays an important role in the celebration of Chinese New Year. In the Chinese culture New Year is celebrated with various foods and traditions that symbolize prosperity, abundance and togetherness.
According to Chinese tradition, fish is typically included as a last course of a New Year’s Eve meal for good luck. Chinese New Year’s meals also feature foods like glutinous rice ball soup, moon-shaped rice cakes (New Year’s cake) and dumplings.
In Chinatown you will find many traditional Chinese - but also other Asian - restaurants serving authentic and really tasty Chinese food. These restaurants are easy to spot as the ducks are usually hung in the front window.
On New Year’s Day, a flamboyant parade with lion and dragon dances, accompanied by drums, gong and cymbals, is held on the Zeedijk in the heart of Chinatown. A lot of fireworks with loud noises and bright lights are lit throughout the Zeedijk and Nieuwmarkt.
The annual traditional Chinese lion dance is performed by local Kung-Fu clubs to congratulate Chinese shopkeepers and businessmen in Amsterdam's Chinatown for the new year.
| Date | Time | What | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 23, 2023 | 14:00 | Lion dance | Nieuwmarkt, in front of Amazing Oriental grocery store |
| January 23, 2023 | 18:30-20:00 | Fireworks, dragon & lion dances | Dam Square, in front of Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky |
| January 23, 2023 | 20:00 | Dragon dance, food, live music | Max Euweplein, near Leidseplein, in front of Holland Casino |
