This past Saturday (2/4) we spent the day in Seattle’s International District, (Chinatown), enjoying the Lunar New Year celebrations. It was nice to get a small taste of Chinese culture without traveling to the other side of the globe. Thousands of Chinese Americans came out to celebrate their culture and customs which for them goes back hundreds of generations.
Happy Lunar New Year! It’s the year of the Rabbit.
According to lore, the year of the Rabbit will be full of excitement, prosperity, and surprises. The rabbit is considered the luckiest of the twelve animals that make up the Chinese zodiac.
The Chinese Lunar New Year celebration began during the XIA dynasty in the 21st century BC. More than 4000 years ago! The traditions and celebrations are still going strong today.
The myth of Nian.
Nian was a mythical monster who would rise out of the sea and attack villages eating people and livestock every New Year’s Eve. The villagers would all flee and hide but one day an old man stayed to confront Nian. When the villagers return the next morning, the old man was fine, and the village was untouched. When asked how, the old man explained that he had put red banners across all the doors and gates, wore his best bright red tunic, lit firecrackers, banged his cymbals, and scared Nian away.
To this day people hang red banners on their homes, wear red clothing, and a large part of their New Year celebrations include parades through town wearing red, lighting firecrackers, and banging cymbals.
The Dragon Dance
The dragon dance dates to ancient times. The dragon symbolizes wisdom, power, and wealth. They are seen as honorable and noble, not as monsters. They are thought to bring good luck. Quite different from the dragons we watched in Game of Thrones.
The dragon’s colors have different significances where green brings a great harvest, yellow shows respect for the empire, gold represents prosperity, and red creates excitement and good fortune.
During the dragon dance, it is considered good luck to touch the dragons as they pass by.
The Lion Dance
The lion dance is one of the most important traditions of the Lunar New Year celebrations. Lions symbolize power, wisdom, and superiority. The lion dances to bring good luck and ward off evil spirits.
Lion dance competitions are held around the world as part of the new year celebrations. Our lion dance team from Seattle won Nationals and came in 3rd place in the world competition in Beijing.
There are two people in the Lion costume and their dances are an amazing combination of choreography and acrobatics.
As with the dragon, it is considered good luck to pet the lion.
The Drunken Lion Dance
The Lantern Festival
The lantern festival happens on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It happens two weeks after the Chinese New Year and marks the first full moon of the new lunar year. The Lantern Festival also closes out the Chinese New Year festivities. This year the Lantern Festival was held on February 5th.
On this night throughout China and Chinatowns around the globe, streets will be filled with colorful lanterns. The dragons and lions will dance, cymbals will crash, and firecrackers will explode.
Unfortunately, I missed the local Lantern Festival so I have no pictures to share. If you Google it you will find a wealth of beautiful photographs.
If you get a chance to attend a Lunar New Year celebration in a Chinatown near you I encourage you to go. Wade in, rub elbows, eat the food, see their smiles, talk to the people, and embrace the differences. It was a wonderful experience for us.
“I find that culture shock is not something to avoid; it’s something to embrace, It’s good. It’s the growing pains of a broadening perspective.” – Rick Steves, from Travel as a Political Act
BR
@BRImages 2023
A fantastic glimpse into the history of the Lunar New Year, and importantly its strong foundation within the Seattle community ~ a beautifully written and photographed post, Bill. The photo of the Lion dancer peaking out of his costume captures the spirit well ~ and it is also very cool to read that his team is top in the US and placed third in Beijing. A pretty amazing feat.
But my favorite shots were the ones you took of the crowd, especially of the younger generation who look completely entranced by the activities… Your advice is perfect: “Wade in, rub elbows, eat the food, see their smiles, talk to the people, and embrace the differences. It was a wonderful experience for us.” When I lived in Portland long ago (in the 90s), I got to know some of the lion dance team there (they did the drunken lion dance you mentioned), and it was like a new world opened up for me. Well done – and wish you a great year of the rabbit! It looks like it has started off very well for you!
Thanks Randy. It was a fun day. I learned a great deal about the Lunar New Year festival and it’s importance to the Asian community. I think the picture of the little girl with her grandparents is my favorite. It shows multiple generations and makes me think about the many generations before and those to come who will enjoy their traditions.