Chinese New Year, Los Angeles Style

Happy Year of the Rat!

By Susie Ling, Chinese Historical Society of Southern California

Xin Nian Kuai Le! (Mandarin) 

Gong Hay Fat Choy! (Cantonese)

On February 7, 2008, the traditional Chinese calendar rolls into year 4706.  Los Angeles, one of the largest Asian American enclaves, takes Lunar New Year seriously.  There will be community events and celebrations in Chinese, Vietnamese, and in some Korean American families.

The Los Angeles Chinese Chamber of Commerce has a whole calendar of New Year traditions.  They sponsor the Miss L.A. Chinatown Pageant, the Annual Golf Tournament, and the infamous Golden Dragon Parade and Festival (Saturday, Feb 9th).  The parade includes a couple of dozen floats, celebrities in antique cars, marching bands, and the like.  Thousands of spectators enjoy the sights along Broadway and Hill.  Along with the parade is the Festival with street vendors, rides, and much of L.A.’s eclectic mix milling around. 

This Golden Dragon Parade is billed as the 109th.  However, Chinese pioneers had a dragon entry in “La Fiesta de Los Angeles” as early as 1894. 

Sunday, Feb 10th is the 30th Chinatown Firecracker 5K/10K Run.  Organized by community volunteers, this is a “warm-up” for the Los Angeles Marathon.  This run begins with 100,000 firecrackers, ferocious lions, and taiko drummers.  Proceeds from the event are shared with grassroots service organizations. 

Not to be outdone, the cities of Alhambra and San Gabriel co-host their own parade and festivities a week later, for the 19th time.  About thirty-thousand come out to enjoy these floats and marching bands.  At Garden Grove Park in Orange County, the Union of Vietnamese Students Association is planning the 26th Tet Festival.

All the supermarkets, temples, and banks are also in preparation for the Year of the Rat.  Banks in Asian communities are trying to stock enough clean crisp bills for the “lai see” or “hung bao”.  Parents and relatives are expected to give gifts of money for good boys and girls.  The crisp bills may get another round amongst the relatives as some families enjoy some gambling games.  The bookstores and markets have some very creative new red envelopes this year.  And the temples are getting ready for a week of visitors.  The crowds to Hacienda Heights’ Hsi Lai Temple speak diverse Chinese dialects and international languages.

And the families are getting ready.  Traditionally, homes have to be cleaned and bills have to be paid.  New clothes should be laid out for the special day.  The family gatherings will include the expected foods of dumpling (look like Chinese gold ingots), whole fish (homonym of “abundance”), noodles (symbolizing long life), whole chicken (symbolizing family togetherness) and nian gao (sticky rice cake).  Everybody will eat well, but leftovers are a must to start the year off right.  Gold-colored China mums, cymbidiums, and kumquats are being exchanged as gifts.  Excitement is in the air as the Year of the Rat begins.

By the way, on January 26, 2009, the Year of the Cow begins.

For More Information

• Chinatown Business Improvement District: www.chinatownla.com
• Chinese Chamber of Commerce: www.lachinesechamber.org
• Chinatown Firecracker 5K/10K: www.firecracker10k.org
• Union of Vietnamese Students Association: www.tetfestival.org
• San Gabriel Valley Lunar Parade: www.lunarnewyearparade.com/main.htm

Also of Interest from the AAV Archives

• Lunar New Year section @ AAV

Images used here courtesy Susie Ling and Chinese Historical Society of Southern California.