On Friday night, the lobby of the Chelsea Harbour Hotel in south-west London suddenly stirred to life with drumbeats from a local lion dance group and accompanying sounds of merriment ushering in the Year of the Rabbit.
Guests at the luxury riverside hotel were treated to a delightful performance of the lion prancing around in the lobby and into the restaurant, and children shrieked with excitement every time it spewed out ang pow, fruits and vegetables for them to catch.
Personally, it was nostalgic.
It brought back memories of growing up in the small town of Alor Star, watching the prancing lion from afar, too afraid to go anywhere near it.
The celebrations, up and down the country, are certainly a welcome distraction for those celebrating and those who yearn for such excitement to add colour to this prolonged cold and biting weather.
For the hotel, it was its first time celebrating Chinese New Year, and it introduced to its guests and customers the merriment that goes with it; the red packets on trees in the lobby, the red lanterns, fortune cookies on the dinner table and more.
Elsewhere, Chinatown London — home to the city's Chinese community since the 1950s — has gone all red with its displays of red lanterns.
Chinese restaurants and eateries have started offering yee sang or Prosperity Toss Salad — a vibrant muddle of sweet purple potatoes, pickled ginger and fresh mangoes while the lions make their rounds.
The highlight of the celebration, especially for the Chinese community in London, is the CNY 2023 parade, which starts on Charing Cross Road before making its way up Shaftesbury Avenue and into Chinatown.
The parade will end at Trafalgar Square where the lions' eye-dotting ceremony takes place.
During last year's CNY celebration, Chinatown was graced by the then Prince Charles and wife Camilla, much to the delight of the unsuspecting crowd.
The then-to-be-king dotted the eyes of the lion and took pleasure in beating the drums to add to the merriment.
This year, as monarch, King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will be hosting a reception for the East and South East Asian community, who have done much to contribute not just to the economy of their host country but also to its unparallelled cultural diversity.
Just a few weeks ago, I attended a Pongal feast, the harvest festival celebrated by Tamils around the world.
Here in London, Sugendran Gopal of Gopal's Corner and Roti King outlets, offered customers a treat of Tamil culture.
On offer was vegetarian food served on banana leaves!
This is London, this is Britain where the sound of the lion dance drumbeats, the azan on Westminster Bridge or the chants of the Hare Rama Hare Krishna group walking along Oxford Street are no longer strange to the locals.
Children are taught not only to understand these diverse cultures, but also to respect them.
Schools and museums do much to promote this understanding.
The Museum of London in the Docklands, for example, will host two days of free activities for children, including a workshop for them to try their hand at Mandarin through games, as well as Chinese ribbon dancing.
Soon, with Ramadan, there will be tents popping up in most cities to invite Muslims and non-Muslims to break their fast together for the purpose of promoting understanding and respect for each other's religion.
According to a think tank report in 2019, there's increasing acceptance and popularity of cultural diversity.
One big event on the calendar this year that will further promote this, will be the king's coronation in May.
There will be celebrations that will bring the communities together.
These will include the Coronation Big Lunches, street parties and a day dedicated to good causes. A spectacular Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle will showcase the country's diverse cultural heritage in music, theatre and dance.
It is certainly something to look forward to.
