Welcome the Year of the Horse with a Lunar New Year celebration from the Museum of East Asian Art at the Holburne.
Celebrate Lunar New Year at the Holburne with a range of hands-on, family-friendly activities inspired by traditions from across East and Southeast Asia. Learn about symbolism, creativity and celebration while making something special to take home.
We have lots on offer from experiencing a Lion Dance to creating your own Lunar New Year decorations and Lion Dance mask, to partaking a chopstick challenge and setting goals and challenges for the year with Tet cards.
Lion Dance Performance 11:00–11:20 Followed by photo opportunities.
Kick off the celebrations with a spectacular Lion Dance performance. Lion dances are a central part of Lunar New Year celebrations, believed to bring good luck, chase away evil spirits and welcome prosperity for the year ahead. With a history spanning thousands of years, the lion dance remains a joyful and energetic tradition.
After the performance, there will be time to take photos before the craft activities begin.
Craft Sessions Located in the Clore Learning Room.
11:30–12:10 12:20–13:00 13:10–13:50 14:00–14:50
Each 40-minute session offers the chance to take part in two creative activities, create your own Lunar New Year decoration and create your own Lion Dance Mask. These sessions are messy, hands-on and lots of fun, using paints, inks, glitter and glue.
Create Your Own Lunar New Year Decorations Decorations play an important role in Lunar New Year celebrations, filling homes with colour, symbolism and good fortune. Using templates and your own imagination, create beautiful decorations inspired by traditional banners, fu characters and symbolic flowers.
Learn about the meanings behind designs associated with good luck, happiness and peace, and make decorations to take home or give as a thoughtful gift this Lunar New Year.
Lion Dance Mask Making After seeing a live Lion Dance, design and decorate your own lion dance mask to wear. Choose your colours, add bold details and bring your mask to life through movement and play.
Tết New Year Cards 11:30–15:00 drop in activity no need to book.
The New Year is a time for reflection, new goals and sharing good wishes. In Vietnam, it is traditional to send New Year cards to family members, friends and teachers, wishing them happiness and success in the year ahead.
Our cards are decorated with horses to mark the Year of the Horse, alongside flowers that symbolise renewal and hope. In Vietnam, apricot and peach blossoms are commonly used in New Year decorations, representing wealth, peace and good fortune. Choose a card and write a thoughtful message to someone you love.
Chopstick Challenge 11:30–15:00 drop in activity no need to book.
Food is at the heart of Lunar New Year celebrations across East and Southeast Asia, with many traditional dishes enjoyed at this special time of year. From fish in China to cỗ Tết feasts in Vietnam and buuz dumplings in Mongolia, food brings families together to celebrate.
Chopsticks have been used for eating in Asia for over 1,600 years. Test your skills in our Chopstick Challenge by picking up different objects from trays of sand and see how steady your hands are!
