MORE than 800 people from Oxford's Chinese community met for an afternoon of ribbon dances and folk songs to celebrate the New Year.

The festivities were not a month late but right on time - for the Chinese New Year that is officially ushered in tonight.

The Chinese take their calendar from the Moon, and the New Year can take place in January or February, according to its position in the sky. It is supposed to be a far more accurate calendar for traditional Chinese, who use the moon to judge when to sow and reap crops and predict tidal changes.

Mei Ling Mo, of Headington, Oxford, arrived from Hong Kong 13 years ago and believes this year's celebrations are the best ever.

She said: "It is wonderful. The Chinese people get very excited because it is a very important festival in our culture."

Each Chinese year is traditionally named after one of 12 animals - similar to our Zodiac signs. This year it is the turn of the tiger to take centre stage, with anyone born during this year likely to be blessed with forcefulness, strength and a sense of adventure.

It is said that all tigers have the drive to reach the very top of their profession, with the ability to see all sides of a given problem.

There was a time when the Chinese New Year was a very low-key affair in Oxford. Now it rates as one of the highlights of the social calendar.

On Sunday, nearly 1,000 members of the Chinese community met many of their English friends at Oxford Town Hall for a sumptuous feast and an afternoon of folk songs and ribbon dances. The Lord Mayor Bill Baker was there to sample the celebrations. The whole event was watched over by a colourful Chinese unicorn made from bamboo and paper.

It was indeed a feast. The meal was prepared by several take-away outlets and Chinese housewives each cooked their own special dish, which included spiced chicken wings, barbecued pork, spring rolls, curried chicken drumsticks and loads of sugary puddings.

But the new year has a spiritual tone too. Rather like Western ideals and resolutions, the Chinese New Year is a time of regeneration and renewal in all aspects of life. The most dramatic, visible sign of the festival were the lines of people who took part in Sunday's traditional Unicorn dance, to encourage good luck and prosperity.

Indeed, Chinese decorations play a vital part in the big day. The main colour is always red - seen as a lucky colour symbolising virtue and wealth. You will probably see pictures of the various deities too - such as the Kitchen God and the God of Wealth.

A spokesman for the Chinese Community and Advice Centre, that organised Sunday's party, said: "I think we have a lot more customs and traditions and superstitions. For instance, it is customary for all the members of the family to wear new clothes to symbolise the throwing off of the old year."

The Chinese will exchange good luck messages, written on red paper and known as Red Couplets.

The sayings are usually made up of four Chinese characters which ask for good luck for a long life, wealth and having many sons.

Being lucky enough to be a tiger certainly has its advantages -- astrologers believe this year may bring a lasting romance. Alas, you can only be a tiger if you were born in 1950, 1962, 1974 or 1986.

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