Colorful Lion dancers, fireworks, and joyful noises were in abundance at Boston’s Chinatown Lunar New Year Celebration on January 29, with city and community speakers addressing the assembled crowd and a procession making its way through the streets. The celebratory sounds of drums, gongs, and cymbals followed troupes of lion dancers as they went door-to-door offering blessings to the neighborhood’s businesses and restaurants. Similar celebrations were held in Malden, Quincy, and (for the first time in its history) Lowell.
Custom dictates that business owners leave offerings such as cabbage and oranges for the lions. These represent health and good fortune. 9th Essex District State Representative Donald Wong spoke to the crowd in Chinatown:
“The last few years with COVID have been hard, but it’s a big crowd today, and it’s the Year of the Rabbit, which hopefully will bring health, wealth and happiness to the community. I would like to see a crowd like this, not just on Chinese New Year, but throughout the year. These people that come here and visit the shops are great and it helps the community.”
Similar sentiments were echoed in Quincy and Malden. In Lowell, small business owner Peter T. reflected on the significance of his city’s first ever Chinese New Year celebration: “I’m Cambodian,” he said. “Lowell’s Mayor Sohaury Chau is Cambodian, and the significance of this celebration here can’t be overstated. It’s proof that so many elements of Chinese culture are also at the root of the Cambodian experience. I really think this will help us come closer as Asian people.”
Chinese Culture Connection New Year Celebration in Malden on January 14, 2023
1st Annual Lunar New Year Festival in Lowell January 22, 2023
Boston Lion Dance Parade in Chinatown on January 29, 2023
QARI 35th Annual Lunar New Year Festival in Quincy on February 5, 2023
