PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Hundreds of people gathered in the city’s Chinatown neighborhood on Sunday to celebrate the lunar new year — with firecrackers, lions and a lot of red.
For 21 years, John Lai has paraded through the streets of Chinatown for the annual lunar new year festival.
“You’ll see a lot of firecrackers. Everything is red. It’s a symbol of good luck and wealth,” he said. “You want good luck, good health and good wealth in the new year.”
Lai is a part of the Philadelphia Suns, a social club that puts together the annual parade. It’s a tradition that unites generations of residents, and he says he cannot think of a better way to start the new year.
“There are things we learned from the older generation that we’re passing down,” Lai said. “It’s really cool to be able to do this every year. Sometimes this is the only day or the only weekend that we see some of the people. This is really cool, to just be able to get everyone back. It’s like we don’t skip a beat. It’s awesome.”
Chad Jung of Philadelphia Suns says the day is all about coming together and starting the new year off on the right foot.
“We go around in our lion costumes, blessing every business. We have firecrackers, which scare off evil spirits. There’s also a head of lettuce that represents good luck and wealth that we spit back out toward the businesses,” Jung said.
“My favorite part is getting together with people I usually don’t see all year. This is the one time of year we get together as a family. We’re all together during the day, and spend the whole day together.”
In Chinese tradition, seasonal celebrations and festivals such as the Lunar New Year follow the lunar calendar, which is based on phases of the moon. The Year of the Dragon, according to the Chinese zodiac, began with the new moon in China, on Feb. 10, which kicks off the two-week spring festival.
It’s believed people born in the Year of the Dragon, which ends on Jan. 28, 2025, have the power to turn their lives around for the better if they stay positive and believe in themselves.