Land of Lunar New Years
February 19, 2008
Celebrating the Year of the Rat around the country
Lunar New Year is a special time for Asian Americans. The core values — an emphasis on family, hopes for good fortune and health, a time for reflection — resonate at every location. But just like Paris’ Eiffel Tower differs from New York’s Times Square during New Year’s Eve, so too do Lunar New Year celebrations vary from locale to locale. With Lunar New Year, a place’s history and geography shape some of America’s most resplendent celebrations.
NEW YORK
New York City’s Chinatown, the largest in the Western Hemisphere, boasts a growing Lunar New Year festival. Credit the Better Chinatown Society for restoring the bang to New York’s Lunar New Year. Hampered by a fireworks ban from 1997, the Society successfully lobbied Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2003 to restore pyrotechnics to Kim Lau Square. The display has since blossomed into a main attraction, with a whopping half-million firecrackers detonated for the Year of the Rat on Feb. 7.
Pyrotechnics partially explain the festival’s ascension from 10,000 onlookers in 2000, the first year the Better Chinatown Society organized the festival, to an expected 400,000 this year. Steven Ting, president of the Society, also commends community support. “As we developed the last few years, a lot of organizations joined us,” said Ting, noting that hospitals, senior citizens and schools contribute much of the 200 volunteers. “It’s a community effort.”
Despite the festival’s ballooning size, Ting emphasizes that the intimate feel of New York’s celebration makes it unique. “We do it purposely in Chinatown, and Chinatown is made up of a lot of smaller streets. The floats and performers are close to a lot of the spectators.”
LOS ANGELES
Part of the draw of the Los Angeles Lunar New Year festivities is the chance to get a close look at celebrities. Bruce Lee, Hugh Hefner and Asian stars like Chow Yun Fat are just some of the local luminaries who have headlined the parade and celebration. For the Year of the Rat, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce recruited the most renowned rodent to grace the land. “This year we’ll be having Mickey Mouse for the festival,” noted Holly Barnhill, spokesperson for the Chinatown Business Improvement District, prior to the parade. Disney’s hallmark character kick-started the Lunar New Year festival and 109th annual Golden Dragon Parade on Feb. 9. Barnhill also noted that the five Olympic ring mascots featured in the festivities, as well as China Consul General Zhang Yun. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, comedian Dat Phan, and numerous musical and performing acts also made appearances. Six beauty queens, 100 units in the parade, 100,000 onlookers and a special import car showing, all showcased the festival’s grandness.
SAN FRANCISCO
Not to be outdone, San Francisco rejoices with one of the most comprehensive celebrations in the nation. “The original parade began in the 1860s, back when they ran it on a dirt road,” said Karen Eng, public relations for the Chinese New Year Festival and Parade in San Francisco. “The Chinese Chamber of Commerce took over in 1958.” From then, the Chamber established current highlights like the Flower Market Fair, the Miss Chinatown Pageant and the Community Street Fair, which takes place through the weekend of Feb. 23 and 24. The Chinese New Year Parade, one of the top 10 in the world according to the International Festival and Events Association, runs on the night of Feb. 23, with the darkness highlighting the vivacity of the floats and performers.
BUTTE, Mont.
With below freezing temperatures and a population of 34,000, Butte might stand as San Francisco’s complete opposite in terms of Lunar New Year celebrations. Here you won’t find beauty pageants or eye-opening galas, yet, Butte is proud to host the “coldest, shortest and loudest” Lunar New Year parade.
A booming mining town during the Gold Rush, Butte housed an enclave of mostly male Chinese Americans seeking riches and looking to support their families overseas. But legislation passed in 1882 and 1924 halted further Asian immigration, denied voting rights, miscegenation and citizenship to immigrants, and justified anti-Asian violence. Those in small towns like Butte feared for their safety and moved to the larger California Chinatowns.
In light of the egregious treatment Chinese workers faced, nonprofit organization Mai Wah Society promised to preserve Chinese culture and promote awareness. The Society reconstituted the Mai Wah Noodle Shop into a museum that highlights the struggles and contributions of Chinese immigrants. The Year of the Rat marked the 15th year the Mai Wah Society has organized a Lunar New Year celebration. On Feb. 9, in temperatures dropping lower than 25 degrees Fahrenheit, the energetic folks of Butte marched a half-dozen blocks while brandishing a 50-foot dragon, a gift from the government of Taipei that required the efforts of two-dozen people. Ten thousand brilliant and cacophonous firecrackers completed the lively display.
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