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Gung Hay Fat Choy! That’s Happy New Year to you, specifically Chinese New Year, which begins this year on February 7 and is celebrated throughout the month in places with large ethnic Chinese populations around the world.

This year marks the Year of the Rat, one of 12 Chinese astrological signs. The other signs are the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Sheep, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog and the Pig. The Chinese New year is celebrated on the first day of the First Moon of the lunar calendar, which falls somewhere between January 21 and February 19. Traditionally, a time to visit family, celebrations of the New Year evolved into more public celebrations as ethnic Chinese populations burgeoned throughout the world and introduced their customs to the native population. This has generally meant parades and fireworks displays.

In the US, a great place to ring in the Year of the Rat is San Francisco, home to the country’s oldest Chinatown. On February 23, San Francisco will host its annual Chinese New Year Parade, considered one of the top 10 parades in the world and one of only a handful of night time parades. The parade starts on Market, goes up Geary, down Post and ends on Kearny at Columbus. Tickets are available here.

San Francisco and the entire Bay Area has celebrations planned this year.

• San Jose will play host to the 11th Annual Vietnamese Spring Festival and Parade on February 10.
• The Oakland Museum of California has a family-oriented celebration planned with readings from Asian authors, a Japanese tea ceremony and martial arts demonstrations.
• Golden Gate Park’s Conservatory of Flowers has a special month-long exhibit of plants that are said to bring wealth and good fortune. These plants include: the Plum blossom, which symbolizes luck; the Kumquat and Narcissus, which symbolize prosperity; the Chrysanthemum, which symbolizes longevity; and the Sunflower, which represents a happy new year.
• Red and White tours will hold a special Chinese New Year’s cruise around San Francisco Bay on February 23, the day of the parade. The cruise includes a traditional Chinese buffet lunch and a Lion Dance.

Honolulu has a series of events scheduled for the New Year.

• February 1: Annual Narcissus Festival in Chinatown.
• February 2: Night in Chinatown Festival and Parade.
• February 9: Market City Shopping Center rings in the year with firecrackers, lion dances and a fortune-cookie giveaway.
• February 10: Aloha Tower Marketplace celebrates with a lion dance, firecrackers and an modern acrobatic performance.
• February 16: Chinese New Year Celebration at the Ward Warehouse.

With an area covering two square miles and an estimated population of 150,000, NYC’s Chinatown is the largest in the United States. New York’s Chinese New Year kicks off February 7 with the Firecracker Ceremony & Cultural Festival, during which 600,000 rounds of firecrackers will be set off to ward off evil spirits. The lighting of firecrackers also signifies a joyous occasion. Traditionally, the firecrackers are wrapped in red paper; the Chinese consider red a lucky color.

On February 10 comes the Lunar Parade, which starts at Mott and Hester streets at 1 pm. At 3 pm an outdoor cultural festival will be held on Bayard Street.

If you’re planning on traveling to New York, be sure to stop by the Museum of Chinese in America, which hosts the Preparing for the Lunar Year walking tour that takes visitors behind the scenes to see how Chinatown transforms for the New Year. Or, you can take a Food Tour of Chinatown. Chinatown boasts some ten different Asian cuisines available in this neighborhood and more than 500 restaurants, bakeries, and tea shops. More information is available here

This year in Hong Kong, Disney transforms the Year of the Rat into the Year of the Mouse with events planned through February 24.

• The dragon procession featuring dragons, birds, fish and clouds.
• A salute to Mickey statues, with eight specially designed life-sized replicas of everyone’s favorite mouse.
• Special foods will be available at all Disney Hong Kong restaurants.
  2. Crystal Lotus features three menus with
     Chinese specialties through February 24.
  3. Disney’s Hollywood Hotel will feature special dishes, including braised duck feet with black mushrooms and lettuce, pan-fried prawn in tomato sauce and a special “soup of fortune and big profit.”
  4. Market House Bakery will offer special Chinese sweets and outdoor vendors will sell traditional New Year snacks, including turnip cakes, corn in honey butter sauce and deep-fried fish skin chips.
• The shops will have special items, too. Visitors can buy lucky greetings and special Chinese New Year t-shirts, pins and candy.

Hong Kong offers much more attractions outside of Disney. Through February 21 there will be a number of events, starting with a nighttime parade on February 7.

• February 8: Free fireworks display in Victoria Harbor
• February 7-10: The Chinese New Year Cup, a soccer tournament
• February 9: Race day at Sha Tin Racecourse
• February 21: Spring Lantern Festival

Visitors to Singapore can start off the New Year with the Singapore River Hong Bao, which runs from February 5-16. On hand will be displays of Chinese mythical characters such as the God of Fortune and the 12 Chinese Zodiac Animals. There’s a changing daily line-up of song and dance performances, fireworks displays, amusement rides and games.

• February 7-12: The Singapore Zoo will feature drum performances, a spring flower trail and the Zoo-diac Rat Trail, which features all 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac.
• February 8-9: The Chinese Festival of the Arts will host special dance performances.

Sydney, Australia kicks off its New Year celebrations on February 1 with a fireworks display at Belmore Park.

• February 6-24: Tour Chinatown, where the merchants and restaurant owners have specially decorated their storefronts in order to participate in the Chinatown Challenge, an annual contest whose winners will be announced February 10.
• February 10: The Chinese New Year’s Parade will be held, ending with a special concert at Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbor
• February 16-17: Dragon Boat Races will be held at Darling Harbor.

Other cities around the US and around the world that will be holding Chinese New Year’s celebrations:

• Los Angeles will celebrate Chinese New Year on February 9 with its annual Dragon Parade.
• Washington, DC will hold a parade February 10.
• Sundays from February 7-24 Philadelphia will holds a lion dance and parade that kicks off at Midnight on the 7th. The succeeding celebrations are held at Noon.
• Melbourne has a parade scheduled for February 10.
• London will host a parade on February 10, followed by a fireworks displays in Leicester Square.

(Photo 1 via flickr cc)
(Photo 2 via flickr cc)
(Photo 3 via flickr cc)

Tags: Chinese New Year | holiday | special events