Lunar New Year

Chinese New Year in Australia is not just celebrated by the chinese but by the indo-chinese communities like the vietnamese as well. Therefore it is more appropriate to call it Lunar New Year so everyone can join in the celebration!

Last Sunday we went to Richmond where the Richmond and Abbotsford Business Association (RABA) and the vietnamese communities there were celebrating the coming New Year.
The celebration took place in Victoria street and the whole street was closed to the traffic for the whole day.
Most of the local traders there got to display their products outside their shops.
These are some of their cultural paintings, umbrellas and cheong sam..much like the chinese ones but still slightly different.
There's always another store more colourful than the one before!
New Year decorations like these red thingies and plastic flowers are always popular.
Australians are fascinated with anything asian like these vietnamese villager's baskets, stools and rick-shaw.
New Year means every thing must be red like these baskets here whatever they are.
There's always plenty of delicious vietnamese food cooked for you right in from of you, these are mini pan-cakes with prawns in them. They're called Banh Khot.
Chives cakes.
Not so vietnamese, amusement game to rip your money off.
Ferris wheel for the not so weak hearted.
Fun Factory for the kids, big as well as small.

And look! Uncle Ho Chi Minh was there too!