|
Event
Information:
Chinese New Year or the Chinese
Lunar New Year is the most important
of the traditional Chinese holidays.
Despite its winter occurrence, in
China it is known as "Spring
Festival," the literal translation
of the Chinese name, owing to the
difference between Western and
traditional Chinese methods for
computing the seasons. The festival
begins on the first day of the first
month in the traditional Chinese
calendar and ends with Lantern
Festival which is on the 15th day.
Chinese New Year's Eve, a day where
Chinese families gather for their
annual reunion dinner, is known as
Chú Xī or "Eve of the Passing Year."
Chinese New Year is also celebrated
annually in many western cities with
significant Chinese populations.
Among the cities with such parades
are San Francisco, Los Angeles, New
York City, Wellington and Vancouver.
However, even smaller cities that
are historically connected to
Chinese immigration, such as Butte,
Montana, have recently hosted
parades. Both London and San
Francisco claim to host the largest
New Year celebration outside of
Asia. Sydney also claims to have the
largest Chinese New Year
Celebrations outside of Asia with
over 600,000 people attending the
celebrations in Chinatown in 2009.
The events there span over three
weeks including the launch
celebration, outdoor markets,
evening street food stalls, Chinese
top opera performances, dragon boat
races, a film festival and multiple
parades. The festival also attracts
international media coverage,
reaching millions of viewers in
Asia.
Chinese New Year is a two week
Spring festival celebrated for over
5,000 years in China. The San
Francisco Chinese New Year
celebration originated in the 1860's
during the Gold Rush day and is now
the largest Asian event in North
America as well as the largest
general market event in Northern
California. The celebration includes
two major fairs, the Chinese New
Year Flower Fair and Chinatown
Community Street Fair. All the
festivities culminate with Chinese
New Year Parade. Named one of the
world's top ten parades, Chinese New
Year Parade in San Francisco is the
largest celebration of its kind
outside of Asia.
Local
Weather:
|
