More than half a million people are expected at Chinese Lunar New Year parade (photo by twi-ny/mdr)
Sara D. Roosevelt Park and other locations
East Houston St. between Forsythe & Chrystie Sts.
February 9-23
www.betterchinatown.com
2012 lunar new year parade slideshow
The Year of the Black Water Snake slithers into the city beginning this weekend, with Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations galore. First up is the very loud New Year Firecracker Ceremony and Cultural Festival, taking place February 10 from 12 noon to 5:00 in and around Chinatown and Sara D. Roosevelt Park, with live music and dance, speeches by politicians, drum groups, lion, dragon, and unicorn dancers making their way through local businesses, and more than half a million rounds of firecrackers warding off evil spirits and welcoming in a prosperous new year. The fourteenth annual Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade and Festival will wind its way through Chinatown, Sara D. Roosevelt Park, and Columbus Park on February 17, with cultural booths in the park and a parade with floats, antique cars, special performers, and many others from China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and other nations. The Flushing Lunar New Year Parade is scheduled for February 16 at 11:00. Throughout the two weeks, the Museum of Chinese in America will host special New Year walking tours (February 9-23). The Snake, the sixth sign of the zodiac, favors intuitiveness, attention to detail, introspection, stylishness, research, and investigation in order to be successful both professionally and personally. People born in the Year of the Snake (1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013) are most compatible with the Ox and the Rooster and least compatible with the Tiger and the Pig. Much of the celebration of Lunar New Year is tied to eating specific delicacies; we got a list of some favorites courtesy of food expert Chu Chen-fan of the social/culinary website Food Culture in Taiwan. Gōng xǐ fā cái!
Buddha Jumps over the Wall is a traditional dish eaten during Lunar New Year celebrations
1. Hot pot (including Fó Tiào Qiáng — Buddha Jumps over the Wall): The indispensable star attraction main course at the dinner table when family members gather for the New Year, representing wealth and prestige.
2. Hot dish: Yearlong Plant (mustard greens) and bamboo shoots (dried shoots are okay) are used when stewing pork or diced chicken, representing “wealth and rank year after year.”
3. Turnip: The term in Taiwanese for “turnip” is almost a homonym for the phrase “good luck,” so eating turnips means that good fortune is at hand and things will go one’s way.
4. Whole chicken: The word for “chicken” in Taiwanese is a homonym for the word “family.” Therefore, serving chicken connotes a “family on the rise” and symbolizes good fortune. The chicken is usually boiled or smoked.
5. Chives: The first syllable of the word for “chives” in Mandarin Chinese is a homonym for “long” or “enduring”; hence, this dish symbolizes longevity and durability.
6. Fish balls, meatballs, shrimp balls: Any one of these expresses the idea of the entire family reunited; having all three, the “Three Grand Primordials,” connotes a robust and unstoppable luck.
7. Deep-fried chicken or pork: The sudden burst of energy that is released when meat is deep-fried brings good fortune for the entire household.
8. Stir-fry medley: Also known as the “As You Wish” dish, it symbolizes having everything one’s way.
9. Tofu: The word for tofu in Mandarin Chinese is a homonym for “everything being blessed”; thus, this dish symbolizes “the entire family being blessed.”
10. Composite stir-fry of three kinds of vegetables: This dish evokes the Chinese aphorism signifying “a fresh and auspicious start.”
11. Red-cooked silver carp: It is best to serve two fish to fully realize the significance of “a surplus year after year,” since the word for “fish” in Mandarin Chinese is a homonym for the word “surplus.” When the dish is placed on the table, the head and tail must not be eaten in order to signify that every venture “has a beginning and an end,” which is to say endeavors will be seen through to completion and not abandoned midway.
12. Fermented bean curd: The name of this dish is a virtual homonym in Mandarin Chinese for the words “happiness and wealth,” making it a good omen.
13. Glutinous rice cake: The name of this dish in Mandarin Chinese is a homonym for the words “to rise in rank year after year.”
14. Dumplings: The name of this dish in Mandarin Chinese is a homonym for the latter half of the Chinese aphorism “to see out the old and ring in the new”; thus, it signifies a new beginning to everything at the start of a new year. When the dumplings are boiled together with Chinese noodles, they are regarded as resembling “silver ingots threaded with strands of gold,” or “bottle gourds suspended by silver strands.” (The Mandarin Chinese word for “bottle gourd” is a virtual homonym for the words “happiness and wealth.”) Both visual similes connote financial success and fortune.
15. Taro soup: The name of this dish in Mandarin Chinese is a homonym for the words “to encounter the optimal outlook.” It acts as an excellent omen when eaten on the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year.