Stobbs held celebrations of the Lunar New Year in our office(s) last week. We had a traditional Chinese lunch, enjoyed Panda bao buns, did some traditional Chinese crafts and received red envelopes. There was also an impressive variety of red clothing on display.

As this is a meaningful celebration for Yana Zhou, she has kindly shared with us the meaning behind the celebrations:

“Lunar New Year is probably the most important celebration in many Asian cultures. Lunar New Year is the beginning of a calendar year where the months are moon cycles, based on the lunar calendar. In China, where I am from, it is so important that if Lunar New Year’s Day fell on a working day, the Chinese Trade Marks Office will shut on that working day (and instead make people work on the weekend). The holiday is all about connecting with family and eating good food. And if you receive a red envelope, you’re in for a nice surprise!”.   

As you may know, each year in the Chinese calendar is represented by one of 12 zodiac animals – it is the Year of the Tiger this year – so it is meant to be a particularly auspicious year for those born in the following years: 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010.