THE CHINESE New Year festivities brought some colour to Basildon where dancing lions brought prosperity to the shops.
The lions visited every store in the Eastgate Shopping Centre where they were given a piece of cabbage as part of tradition.
Roselyn Kam, of Champion Martial Arts in the lower galleries, said: “They are bringing prosperity and good luck to the shop. We need it!
“It was very good. There were a lot of people and they had karate and the dragon dance.”
Mike Horton, Eastgate’s promotions manager, said this was the 13th annual celebration. He said: “It really is a colourful spectacle. It draws huge audiences who follow the lion dance around the mall as the lion visits every store entrance.
“I think it’s very important because we are in the privileged position of being able to demonstrate oriental culture to our customers.
“It’s very interesting, but it’s also an awful lot of fun.”
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