Just jump. Oh, and hang on.: The Year of the Goat

February 21, 2015

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

At the last minute I realized that Chinese New Year celebrations were this weekend, and that the city was having its annual celebrations on Commissioner Street. I drive down this street almost every day (I have a client in this neighbourhood), so it only made sense that I wanted to see it bustling with festivities and to experience how Joburgers celebrate the Year of the Goat. Despite the less than customary Joburg summer weather (it drizzled off an on all evening), we managed to wrangle a group together and headed down to enjoy an evening of friends (old and new), festiveness, food, and fireworks.

The Year of the Goat: bedazzled South-African style.

These rather disturbingly-shaped balloons are for sale at virtually every Joburg festival.

Lucky Bamboo.

Chinese paper umbrella at the Chinese market.

Festiveness.

Dragon statue that watches over Commissioner Street.

Swallows Inn- the oldest Chinese restaurant in Joburg. And I can now say, the best Chinese food I've had in Joburg.

Our table for 10.

Happy family on New Years.

We weren't quite sure what animal this was, a goat perhaps?

Obligatory dragon. There were two others that made appearances later in the evening- a yellow one and a green one. They visited the neighbouring shops to ward off evil spirits and set off the string of firecrackers lining the shop entrance (not a quiet entrance, consequently). They all moved very quickly and sporadically through the very dense crowd and were impossible to capture through my shutter.

Inner city alive at night.

Sui Hing Hong is a famous Chinese market that M and I have visited previously as part of an inner city shopping tour. It was open all evening for people to pop in and pick up any necessary provisions for celebrating the new year: paper lanterns, snacks, fireworks, etc.