By Miamichelle Abad
Strips of rainbow confetti painted the winter sky and firecrackers ricocheted off the concrete pavement alongside fluttering Chinese and American flags. The annual Lunar New Year Parade kicked off on a brisk Sunday afternoon, following a tradition of celebration that began worldwide on February 19th.
As thousands of New Yorkers joined the Chinatown community in welcoming this year’s zodiac animal, the sheep, goat or ram, 2014’s mascot the horse galloped away.
Police officers were stationed at the cross-streets of Canal and Mott Street and barricades kept parade-goers from crossing over nearby streets, causing heavy congestion. Parent’s balanced young children on their shoulders; passerby’s stood on stairs, while others squeezed through the dense crowd, all to get a better view of this neighborhood’s biggest party.
With temperatures climbing to a slightly sunnier 40 degrees, locals and tourists were able to enjoy all the parade had to offer without the imminent threat of frostbite.
Unlike the flashy midnight affair at Times Square, the Lunar New Year – also known as the Spring Festival – calls for a more detailed preparation. Although Chinese families do not create resolutions for themselves, they have to avoid a few superstitions, get outstanding debts in order and think positive.
To prevent their luck from being swept away, families finish spring cleaning before New Years Eve. Similarly, a quick trim or haircut cannot be done around the same time or else you will cut off your luck.
Showing off and wearing red goes without saying, because it’s the luckiest color in Chinese culture.
“I love to give away money to the dragons because it gives me good luck,” says Mimi Chang, Season Jewelry vendor. Chang use to receive and collect the customary red envelopes filled with money as a child, but now as an adult she is required to give them away to other children.
After the parade, the dragon and lion dancers were seen blessing a few stores along Grand St. “The dragons bow to my Buddha statue and I feel very good,” Chang says on her previous encounter with the creature two years ago.
In Chinese, the word used for wealth and oranges are similar, making tangerines and oranges a must have fruit. Noodles literally symbolize a long life, so the longer the noodle, the better.
The traditional New Years Eve dinner is filled with delicious yet symbolic foods that represent the family’s wishes. This reunion dinner is the most important part of the holiday because relatives migrate back to China or celebrate with family members wherever they live.
Those with a sweet-tooth can rejoice, because eating desserts is believed to guarantee a sweet life. As for seafood, it’s custom to cook a whole fish intact, for abundance in the future.
“Its great to see all the people from different countries here”, Shan Shan Wong said. This is Wong’s first time in New York and being away from her family in Hong Kong. She waved her flag and cheered for the floats. Her hope for the New Year is simple but universal, “To be happy and for everyone to be happy too.”
A fireworks ceremony held on the 19th was the official start of the New Year. It was held at Sara D. Roosevelt Park in Chinatown.
Despite bone-chilling temperatures, the event attracted a huge crowd that surrounded the park as everyone awaited the first spark. About 600,000 fireworks were fired off into the sky, to fend off negative energy.
The blasts could be heard all around and people covered their ears and laughed.
The cheers of “Happy New Year” and the mandarin translation, “Gong Xi Fa Cai” broke through the smoke of the aftermath.
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