Families welcome in the Year of the Tiger
CHILDREN from all over Ireland dressed in traditional Chinese attire and converged on White's Hotel last weekend to celebrate the Year of the Tiger.
As the Chinese New Year looms, the children, who are all adopted by Irish parents, had a chance to celebrate their culture at the annual national get together of the Irish Chinese Contact Group.
A large number of Wexford parents were among the 430 participants, while the Chinese ambassador to Ireland, Mr. Liu Biwei made his first trip to the south east for the happy occasion.
According to Wexford parent Amy Allen, who is among the many supporters of the ICCG, the event was completely family orientated and focussed on the children having a lot of fun.
This was also an opportunity for the parents, many of whom had travelled together to China to adopt their children, to network and renew old friendships.
'It's qute a big event. People travelled from Dublin, Galway and Cork,' said Amy.
A series of fun workshops embracing Chinese culture were staged while parents had an opportunity to catch up during the event. This year a YAP group (standing for Young Adopted People) was also set up for participating teenagers.
'A huge part of ICCG is celebrating the culture and heritage of our children. We've entered into an agreement to have Irish/Chinese families,' she said.
'The children have great craic. They love dressing up, and they are very proud of their Chinese culture,' she said.
