Ringing In the Chinese New Year In Philadelphia

Chinatown is ringing in the Chinese New Year in high style this week! Yesterday marked the actual New Year, but a whole week of celebrations has been planned in Philadelphia’s Asian quarter. Expect parades, dancing, and plenty of food to mark the occasion.

Brightly-colored dragons are traditional symbols of the Chinese New Year.

On Sunday the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation will host the Philadelphia Suns Lion Dance Parade. Organizer Weiling Wang promises that the parade will bring good luck to all that attend. A few days later the Corporation will host a Chinatown New Year’s Banquet to which all (regardless of ethnicity) are invited to attend. Wang says that everyone is welcome to come out and enjoy the “real and traditional” feeling of the New Year’s celebrations. The festivities kicked off at midnight yesterday with fireworks and a parade to ring in the lunar new year. Holidaymakers braved the cold (it was about 13 degrees at the time!) to dance and make merry in honor of the celebration.

It’s the Year of the Sheep (or goat, depending on who you ask), whose gentle traits and likeability are celebrated. Flowers that honor the sheep are the primrose and carnation, and its lucky numbers are said to be three, four, and nine. Chinese astrology claims that green, red, and purple are lucky colors for those born under the sign of the sheep. Those born under the sign of the sheep are said to be polite, family-minded, and kindhearted. They are thrifty and have a good head for business. On the downside, they may be moody, vain, and indecisive. They have an especial appreciation for art and beauty in life.