Chinese New Year celebrated in Helsinki amid festivities, joy

Celebrations of the Chinese Lunar New Year took place Helsinki on Wednesday with festivities and joy in testament to a shared commitment to promoting cultural exchange between Finland and China.

The theme of this year’s festival was “Year of the Snake. Luck without End” marked the Chinese Spring Festival for the first time after UNESCO had recognized it as an intangible cultural heritage in December 2024.

The colorful celebrations featured a folk fair, a photographic exhibition and a cultural show where people from various walks of life took part.

The event, “Happy Chinese New Year with Golden Snake”, was launched on Wednesday morning at Helsinki Airport with cultural performances, exhibitions and discussions.

About 30 photographs on spring festival, life, culture, happiness and traditional attractions of Beijing were on display.

Speakers at the event introduced the audience to various attractions of China and talked about their aspects.

The major public event of the day was “Folk Fair And Asian Cultural Festival” held at Narinkkatori in Helsinki city centre where the heart of Helsinki was lighted up with the vibrant colors, sound and tastes of the 2025 Chinese New Year.

Twenty-eight booths presented the ultimate “Asia meets Finland” celebrations in the festival.

People enjoyed the performances and displays that blended timeless traditions with modern artistry.

The programs included dragon and lion dances performed by a collaborative Chinese and Finnish team, ice sculptures, intangible cultural heritage exhibition, Chinese painting, sugar painting, Peking opera facial masks and the puzzle-like Luban Lock.

Elegant Chinese folk music was performed and martial arts were demonstrated projecting the beauty and depth of the Chinese culture.

Fourteen food stalls offered a gastronomic journey across Asia, including China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Singapore.

In the evening, a variety show was held at the Savoy Theatre in Helsinki to present the Chinese culture before invited guests.

The programs included dragon and lion dances, New Year celebration music, martial arts, acrobatics, etc.

The “Happy Chinese New Year” celebrations were first organized in Finland in 2007 as a collaboration between the cities of Helsinki and Beijing.

The celebrations have expanded for 18 years to become the largest and most influential celebrations of Chinese culture, arts and cuisine held annually.

These events were organized by the embassy of China to Finland, Chinese Tourism Bureau, City of Vantaa, Finavia, The Chinese Finnish Friendship Association (CFFA) in collaboration with various other Chinese communities.