Museum Of Chinese In America Celebrates Lunar New Year's Eve
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Families flocked to Chinatown on Sunday to get a jump-start on lunar new year celebrations at the Museum of Chinese in America and to make wishes for the upcoming year of the dragon. NY1's Tara Lynn Wagner filed the following report. The 15-day lunar new year celebration began early Sunday in Manhattan's Chinatown, with a crowd celebrating the new year's eve at the Museum of Chinese in America (MoCA). The holiday, which starts Monday, is biggest in the Chinese calendar.
"It's heralding something new. It's a celebration of togetherness, a way for families to get together," said Beatrice Chen of MoCA.
Family is at the heart of the lunar new year, which is usually spent visiting loved ones. But that is just one of many colorful traditions. Oranges play a role, as do red envelopes that are filled with money and passed on to younger family members.
"We exchange [the envelopes], which is giving money to the little ones to bring prosperity for the full year," said an attending parent.
"You can visit family and you gets lots of money," said a participating child.
While the holiday always warrants a big celebration, this year of the dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac, is considered special.
"It's one of those big years because it symbolizes power and it's always auspicious," said Chen.
"The year of the dragon is always a prosperous year and it means good luck," said a participant.
Another animal was featured in the centerpiece of the museum's festival — the lion dance.
"The lion is supposed to ward off evil spirits and bring everyone good luck and happiness and prosperity," said lion dance coordinator Mike Jee.
Another tradition is making wishes for oneself and others for the coming year. At the museum, the wishes were written down and fed to a lion, but there are plenty of other ways to get one's wish out there.
"Some people will put it in a bottle and put it in the river and they believe it will go to the places where your wish will come true," said a participant.
In a crowd full of families and smiling faces, it seemed most of the wishes already came true.
"My wish is health. Good health for everyone," said one parent.
"Definitely good health for the whole family and just for fun," said another.