A colorful, fragrant tradition drew thousands of people to San Francisco’s Chinatown on Saturday, days before the start of the Lunar New Year.
The opening day of the Chinese New Year Flower Market Fair offered an array of flowers, fruits, candies and supplies to usher in the Year of the Fire Horse, which begins Tuesday. Beyond their aesthetic appeal, the objects hold special meaning in Chinese tradition for what they represent.
• Related: How S.F.’s Chinese New Year Parade has evolved through the decades
The free flower market, which offered more than 120 booths and concessions, also featured traditional Chinese magicians, acrobats, folk dancers and opera performers. This year’s fair also included an art zone featuring giant inflatable figurines, a screenprinting workshop, a small press marketplace, dance-alongs and interactive photo opportunities.
Ling Rao attends the Chinese New Year Flower Market Fair in San Francisco’s Chinatown on Saturday. (Jonah Reenders/For the S.F. Chronicle)
Flowers and floral decorations offered at the fair are considered crucial for the start of the year, symbolizing hope for the next generation. Plants that bloom on Lunar New Year’s Day signify a year of prosperity. This year’s fair coincided with another flower-focused tradition: Valentine’s Day.
Oranges and tangerines symbolize good luck, prosperity and wealth, and they are often exchanged as gifts or used to decorate homes because their vibrant color resembles gold.
Candies also play a role in Lunar New Year celebrations for their placement on a harmony tray in groups of eight, representing prosperity, or nine, for longevity. Popular items include candied melon, for growth and good health; red melon seeds, for joy, happiness, truth, fertility and sincerity; candied coconut, to encourage togetherness; and lotus seeds, for fertility.
Lunar New Year supplies are among the offerings at the Chinese New Year Flower Market Fair in San Francisco’s Chinatown on Saturday. (Jonah Reenders/For the S.F. Chronicle)
The annual flower market fair is a prelude to weeks of celebrations culminating with the Chinese New Year Parade, which began as a bold experiment by immigrants in 1853 and has evolved into one of San Francisco’s largest yearly celebrations. This year’s parade, the largest Lunar New Year event outside of Asia, is set for March 7.
Several blocks were closed to traffic Saturday during the flower market, including Grant Avenue from Broadway to California Street, Pacific Avenue from Stockton Street to Columbus Avenue, and Jackson Street between Stockton and Kearny streets. Muni rerouted the 12-Folsom/Pacific bus for the fair, which concludes Sunday.
Chinese New Year Flower Market Fair
Concludes 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Grant Avenue and Washington Street, S.F. chineseparade.com/flowermarketfair
This article originally published at S.F. Chinatown’s flower market fair in full bloom as prelude to Lunar New Year.