I had nothing significant planned for last Friday, and was absent-mindedly saying yes to all sorts of plans my friends were making; completely forgetting an important wedding reception I had to attend that very day.

I don't know how it slipped my mind, other than blaming the "brain-fog" syndrome Dhakaites are experiencing (but never addressing their addiction to watching non-sensical social media videos).

Coming back to the topic of Friday, I was all elated when a friend sent me a video message about the Chinese New Year celebration being held at Gulshan Lake Park. The first of its kind in Dhaka, I jumped at the offer and dressed like a Christmas tree, and went to the beautiful park to join in the festivities, and promised to sneak into the wedding reception later.

It was dusk, the sky was an orange marmalade shade, and the old, tall trees of the park were lit up with fairy lights. Red traditional Chinese lanterns swung in the cool evening breeze, and the conventional colourful paper hangings swayed, ushering in the year of the wood snake. All this added up to a magical ambiance.

The event was joyful, with traditional dragon and lion dances gliding and cruising away in vibrant yellow colours. Huge traditional drums, gongs, and cymbals were present. The beating of the drums in a loud tempo signified warding off the 'bad luck monster' and ringing in the good luck.

The display of martial arts, instrumental music, and traditional Chinese dances performed by teachers and students of the Confucius Institute of Shanto Mariam, North South University, and Dhaka University (CI at DU) was spectacular. For those not in the know, Confucius Classrooms are hubs that serve the local community and promote joint planning of cultural activities and sharing of ideas and resources.

An interesting DIY booth had hand-crafted white paper fans on a stick, and visitors could paint the face of the fan with either calligraphy or scenery or write Spring Festival couplets.

The fair-like atmosphere was taken up a notch with New Year goods markets, delicious barbeque booths that had live grilling stations, where satay sticks of chicken liver, giblets, skin, offal of cattle, and sprigs of Chinese chives were lightly sprinkled with salt and some secret ingredient that had visitors standing in long queues.

"The Chinese New Year Festival is the most important traditional festival in China and has been included in the Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list.

The date of the Chinese New Year 2025 is January 29.

On the eve of the Chinese New Year festival, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China, the Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh, and all sectors of Chinese and Bangladeshi society have jointly planned to hold a series of "Happy Chinese New Year Festival" celebrations in Dhaka and Chattogram, including two temple fairs, a nine-day Chinese Film Week and five performances by the Zhejiang Wu Opera Troupe of China," says Vivian Huang, secretary general of Overseas Chinese Association in Bangladesh.

This celebration will allow people to experience the rich and colourful Chinese culture and strengthen China-Bangladesh bilateral relations.

According to old texts, the Chinese New Year marks the beginning and end of each Chinese zodiac year. The Chinese zodiac is a 12-year cycle of animal signs.

For 2025, the Chinese New Year begins on January 29, marking the start of the Year of the Snake, specifically the Wood Snake, and ending on February 16, 2026.

The snake, known for its wisdom and transformative energy, is coupled with the wood element, embodying growth, stability, and creativity.

My Chinese sign is a monkey. As astrologers say, monkeys have a history of bitter compatibility with snakes, I hope to be cordial to my "snake" friends, because I love reading astrology mumbo-jumbo and believing it too.