Xin Nian Hao！

Happy New Year – Xin nian hao！

This is heard again and again in the Concert Hall in Aarhus. Both Chinese and Danes greet one another， and all are here to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

It all started in humble surroundings in 2002. It was in a shopping mall in the outskirts of Copenhagen. In spite of lack of space and facilities the celebration was a relative success， and the interest to follow up was definitely there. The event moved to different places in Copenhagen， but it wasn’t easy to find a good venue.

In our association we had a vision to make it a great event for all of Denmark. In 2005 we decided to leave Copenhagen and the event there and start another place.

We found a good partner in the Concert Hall of Aarhus. It is a very convenient location to cover all of Denmark as Aarhus is located centrally in Denmark whereas Copenhagen though capital is at the outskirts. Aarhus is also the second biggest city of Denmark.

But most important the facilities are in top. It is the biggest concert house in Northern Europe， and we have plenty of room both in the foyer and on the balcony. As an example there are two stages in the foyer area， and we are able to alternate. That gives a good flow.

The celebration is always on a Sunday to enable guests from all of Denmark to attend. Usually around 4，000 – 5，000 comes during the day. That is quite a lot！ It is both Danes and Chinese， old and young. Many families attend as it is free. That it is free is important to us， we wish all should be welcome and have a happy day.

The cultural meeting is alpha and omega of the celebration. We all meet one another with interest and curiosity and a wish to become a little bit wiser. It is a common ground where we meet on equal terms.

Part of it is that both Danes and Chinese get inspiration from one another. In the concept is that we also have Danes practicing Chinese culture. For instance Danes show taiji， and acupuncture is demonstrated by Danes. Danes play mahjong – they are quite good at it and invite passing Chinese to join them. That is also the cultural meeting.

But of course there are many Chinese as well showing what they can. This couldn’t be done without a lot of Chinese willing to lay an enormous effort in showing the Danish people Chinese culture. We are very thankful to the Chinese citizens for their support.

Then the Chinese Embassy ensures that there is a new high quality performance every year. There is a troupe in Denmark for all the New Year’s celebrations around the country， and they give us part of their show. That is a mainstay and a treat.

In short without the backing of the Chinese community and government it would be a very sorry event！

But performances are one thing. The idea is also to have some of the atmosphere of a Chinese market. Naturally food is important， and we work hard to make it authentic， but here we could do better.

Then we have stalls selling different goods as the ones one could image. But we mix the cards and have a wider definition. Only requirement is that it should be related to China.

As an example the bank Forex attends because it has many Chinese customers. It has a stall and hands out yellow balloons. Lebara is there and gives away prepaid cards to enable guests to phone home to China for free to send a New Year greeting to family and friends. The Casino advertises their special New Year event and gives away free entrance cards.

Besides stalls there are many other things to catch the eye. We have different exhibitions. It could be paintings or a photo exhibition， but also other angles such as demonstration of what the Chinese invention paper can be used artistically.

We have a children’s corner where children can try to use chopsticks or learn to count to ten in Chinese. Naturally there are demonstrations of taiji and acupuncture and mahjong and calligraphy and hand pulled noodles …

And each year there is something new relating to this year’s animal according to the Chinese zodiac calendar. Lately we even had live animals – snakes， horses and goats.

It is a big job coordinating it all， and nobody is paid. It is all done by volunteers. But three things make it worth it all：

One is that it is right in the eye fulfilling our purpose as an association.

The second is the sight of so many happy guests.

And thirdly the income is welcome. We earn relatively little because our priority is that it should be free. Those who have a professional stall pay us 100 euro， and we earn a little selling goods and arranging the lottery. All in all the income is around 1，500-2，000 euro.

Thanks to support from the municipality of Aarhus and the Concert Hall we pay no rent. That is also one of the reasons for our choice of location.

Naturally the Chinese New Year is still celebrated in Copenhagen， both with a public event organized by the Chinese community and by a closed performance arranged by the Chinese Embassy. Besides more and more municipalities with friendly relations with China started to celebrate the Chinese New Year

But the biggest event is in Aarhus.

The Friendship Association

Denmark-China

Established in 1952， Danmark-Kina is one of the oldest friendship associations with China in the world. We are unpolitical and financially independent.

We have many activities. Many are among the usual of friendship associations as for example： publish a magazine （the biannual Danmark-Kina）， arrange public meetings， assist organizing events and run a subscription department for Chinese periodicals. More unusual could be we rent a Chinese dragon， organize boxes for schools learning about China etc.

The celebration of the Chinese New Year in Musikhuset Aarhus is in a league of its own.

How It All Started

The first public celebration of the Chinese New Year in Denmark took place in 2002. It was to mark that it was 100 years since the first Chinese immigrated. Before 1902 a few official Chinese delegations and some sailors visited Copenhagen， but they all left. It had been noticed that the Chinese aroused great interest， though.

At that time in Europe it was popular to watch “exotic” people. So accordingly the Danish entertainment park Tivoli imported different groups of people， and in 1902 it was time for the Chinese. A caravan of 34 Chinese – men， women and children – arrived and was fenced in at Tivoli. The fence was there for a good reason： customers had to pay to see the Chinese. That was in their own interest as they were paid for being there.

The Chinese created a small village with handicrafts and shows. It was extremely popular， no less than 135，320 tickets were sold during the summer.

In spite of the fence what can happen did. Some of the Chinese fell in love with Danes. So when the season ended they stayed. The first marriage between a Chinese man and a Danish woman took place in 1904. Others stayed to work in Denmark， and all in all half of the group became Danish citizens.

Now there are around 10，000 Chinese in Denmark.