恭贺新禧 Happy Lunar New Year!

John Stephen Dwyer [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons
Friday, February 16th marks  the first day of the Chinese Calendar and the beginning of the Year of the Dog.  For the next two weeks, there will fireworks, feasts, family reunions and parades to celebrate the Lunar New Year. There are also a great many traditions associated with the Lunar New Year that are centuries old, such as the hanging of traditional ‘new years’ poems, cleaning the home, the receiving new clothes and getting one’s haircut.

And because our campus is located very conveniently in Chinatown, be sure to check out the Chinese New Year Parade! It’s the largest annual celebration in Boston’s Chinatown with lion dancers, music, and firecrackers—and if you haven’t tried the plethora of food options in our neighborhood, what a better time to venture out and celebrate? This year’s parade will be held on Sunday, February 25, 11:00 am starting at the John F. Fitzgerald Surface Road . Here’s some more information about the festivities in Boston. 

If you are celebrating Lunar New Year, we wish safe travels and  much joy and prosperity this year! 恭贺新禧  Happy New Year!

Further reading:

“Celebrating the Chinese New Year now — and Chinatown always” (Boston Globe – February 13, 2017)

About the Lunar New Year

Chinese New Year Traditions

Stories about Chinese New Year (National Public Radio)