The Chinese New Year charms are sought after by many PANDORA fans. We have a sneak peak of the 2017 Chinese New Year Charm for you.

The Chinese New Year for 2017 will be Saturday 28th January on the Gregorian Calendar. Chinese New Year is celebrated throughout the world and the new PANDORA Chinese New Year charm for 2017 is influenced by the celebrations.

In traditional Chinese culture, the lion was only an animal which existed in myth, and there were no actual lions in China. Before the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), only a few lions had reached the Central Plains from the western area of ancient China (now Xinjiang), due to trade on the Silk Road.

At that time, people mimicked the appearance and actions of the newly arrived lions in a performance, which developed into the lion dance in the Three Kingdoms Period (220–280) and then became popular with the rise of Buddhism in the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–589). In the Tang Dynasty (618–907), the lion dance was one of the court dances.

Since then lion dances have continued to become a popular performance among the people, to pray for good luck during the Spring Festival or during other celebrations. The lion dance is an excellent example of Chinese folk culture, which has spread across the world with Chinese immigration. Chinese people living overseas in Europe and America have established many lion dance clubs which perform on Chinese festivals like Chinese New Year.