Luxury hotel Winford Manila Resort & Casino (WMRC) ushered in the Lunar New Year on February 5 in grand fashion by hosting a traditional all-day celebration to ring out the old and ring in the new—the auspicious Year of the Earth Pig.

With many Filipino-Chinese residents of the Manila area in attendance, the festivities promptly began at 2 p.m. with a traditional eye-dotting ceremony led by WMRC executives, followed by the famous lion dance that roared its way from the hotel lobby to virtually every point of the multi-story property.

Both ceremonies often take place during Chinese new year celebrations to ward off bad spirits using percussion instruments like drums and cymbals paired with the face of a lion—an auspicious animal in Chinese culture. During every lion dance performance, it is considered lucky to feed red envelopes filled with money, or ampao, to the lion.

Other highlights of WMRC’s Chinese New Year program included a lively merry-making parade that made the rounds on various floors, before concluding with a seminar conducted by celebrity feng shui Master Hanz Cua where he shared his insights on what each of us can expect this year, depending on our corresponding Chinese zodiac signs.

No proper celebration is complete without a generous spread of glorious food, and WMRC’s Filipino-Spanish restaurant Copa de Manila had that covered with an all-you-can-eat special, highlighted by unlimited servings of scrumptious lechon all for the celebratory price of just PHP999 per person, for one day only.