Chinese New Year, the biggest holiday of the year for most Chinese throughout the world, is traditionally family-oriented—the time for family members to reunite at home and over-eat symbolic foods, much like Thanksgiving in the US. In the San Francisco Bay Area, the celebration of Chinese New Year is also stretched over a few weeks, with fairs, beauty queens, bazaars, lion dances and deafening firecrackers in Chinatown, and museums, the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Zoo and other organizations hosting special activities, too. It all culminates in the Chinese New Year Parade, a night-time spectacle with a feisty 250-foot-long dragon.
When is Chinese New Year?
Firecrackers are said to ward off evil. Knight Lights Photography.
Chinese New Year is based on a lunar calendar (according to phases of the moon), so its corresponding date on the Western calendar varies from year to year. In 2012, the Chinese New Year (or “Lunar New Year") begins on January 23, the start of the Chinese Year of the Dragon.
The Chinese Zodiac
Twelve animals comprise the Chinese zodiac, and people are believed to have characteristics matching the animal whose year they were born in. The dragon is the only mythical beast in the zodiac, and many regard it is the most auspicious. Some famous folks born in the Year of the Dragon: Joan of Arc, Sigmund Freud, Mae West, Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), Pearl Buck and John Lennon. Find out which animal you are here.
CHINESE NEW YEAR FESTIVITIES IN SAN FRANCISCO AND THE BAY AREA:
Lunar New Year Celebration & Flower Market
Jan. 21, at 10 am–4 pm
SF Botanical Garden Society’s program includes lion dances, tea tasting, story-telling, puppet shows, kids' art activities by the Asian Art Museum, docent-led tours, traditional New Year plants and flowers, and a variety of Asian foods.
San Francisco County Fair Building, 9th and Lincoln Way, Golden Gate Park. Free.
Chinese New Year Day
Jan. 23
Time to welcome the Year of the Dragon! By now, the home should be sparkling clean, the cooking done and all bills and debts paid. Wear new clothes, preferably in good-luck-color red. Don't argue, and don’t use knives or sharp objects. Parents and other adults give children hong bao, red envelopes with money inside. Read about other Chinese New Year practices and superstitions here.
Lunar New Year at the Zoo
Jan. 29, at 10 am-3 pm
Acrobats, lion and folk dancing, Chinese yo-yo tricks, and a Chinese-zodiac- animals scavenger hunt. People born in dragon years (1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, and on or after Jan. 23, 2012) are admitted free.
At San Francisco Zoo. Activities free with zoo admission.
Chinese New Year Basketball Jamboree
Feb. 4, at 10 am-4 pm
Middle-school-aged boys and girls play in six games in one day.
At Francisco Middle School, 2190 Powell St.
Lunar New Year in Redwood City
Feb. 4, at 11 am-4 pm
Acrobats, lion dances, martial arts, kid-oriented arts and crafts, food. Free admission to the San Mateo County Historical Museum, too.
At Courthouse Square, Redwood City. Free.
Miss Chinatown USA Pageant
Feb. 4, at 7:30 pm
Young women from across the country compete for prizes and scholarships in the annual pageant. The winners serve as goodwill ambassadors for the Chinese community during the new year.
At Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon St. Tickets $35, 45, 65.
Year of the Dragon Celebration at the Asian Art Museum
Feb. 5, at 11 am-4 pm
Chinese American International School students perform Chinese classical music, Chinese ethnic minority dances and a lion dance. Listen to new year stories and make dragon crafts.
At the Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin. Free admission.
Lunar New Year at the San Jose Museum of Art
Feb. 5, 11 am–5 pm
Free admission in honor of the Year of the Dragon. Enjoy lion dances, live music, art-making and cultural performances and learn about new year customs.
San Jose Museum of Art, 110 South Market St., San Jose.
