While some of us might still be feeling a little fuzzy-headed from the rituals and celebrations associated with the start of a New Year in the Gregorian calendar, in China the countdown is well and truly on to the beginning of the Year of the Pig — with Chinese New Year celebrations now just one month away.
We’ll no doubt be seeing a slew of companies in the coming weeks associating themselves with red and gold imagery and visions of idyllic family life in the run up to the holiday. But toymakers Lego have an early frontrunner for our favorite bit of Spring Festival commercialization with not one but two Lunar New Year-themed sets.
One allows you to build a moving Lego dragon dance troupe:
The other enables you to recreate all the pressure and arguments of a meal with the family in Lego form:
Lego’s push for Chinese New Year relevancy also comes complete with Lego hongbao (red envelopes, traditionally containing cash, which are exchanged at New Year) and, err, a figure in a pig suit:
Doesn’t seem like these are going to be available in stores outside of Asia, but they are on sale right now via Lego’s Tmall shop — the dragon dance set is 599RMB (around 87USD) and the New Year’s Eve feast set is 699RMB (about 102USD).
