The Year of the Tiger was welcomed with a parade through town as part of Chinese New Year celebrations.

A lion was awoken outside the St George’s Arts Centre in Gravesend before embarking on a procession through the streets.

The Lunar New Year begun on Tuesday. It marks the start of a two-week celebration and is one of the most important holidays for many across the world.

During those two weeks, red paper lanterns are strung up and families gather to share feasts, enjoying symbolic dishes such as dumplings, representing gold ingots, and noodles, denoting long life.

According to superstition, a person born in a particular year takes on the traits of that year’s animal.

By this logic, babies born in 2022 will take on the characteristics of the tiger – the third in the 12-animal Chinese zodiac cycle.

Tigers were also born in 2010, 1998, 1986, 1974, 1962, 1950 and so on.

The red and yellow animal made its way through Gravesend's town centre along New Road and down the High Street to Gravesend Borough Market.

It was joined along the way by shoppers and children as they gathered in the streets to take part in the celebrations.