As red lanterns went up and shop windows filled with paper cutouts, David Jaing was checking the mouth of a lion over the weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s definitely exciting. I’m a bit nervous,\u201d said Jaing, a Chinatown resident preparing to perform a traditional Lion Dance to help usher in Lunar New Year and the Year of the Horse.<\/p>\n
At the Chinese Freemasons Athletic Club \u2014 a Chinatown staple for 70 years \u2014 young performers squeezed in one final practice before Tuesday\u2019s celebrations. Soon, they\u2019ll weave through neighborhood restaurants, the lion\u2019s bright head bobbing and blinking, to bring prosperity for the year ahead.<\/p>\n
For Jaing, rehearsing and checking the costume equipment helps calm his jitters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first thing we would check is basically the mouth right here. You see how the string is attached. If it’s a little loose, then we’ll have to readjust it,\u201d he said, holding up the lion\u2019s painted face.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Lunar New Year celebrations begin Feb. 17 and run through early March across New York City
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The Year of the Horse is part of the 12-year Chinese zodiac cycle and is associated with ambition and exploration
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Lion Dance performances will visit restaurants in Chinatown to bring prosperity for the year ahead<\/p>\n
Across New York City, Lunar New Year festivities begin Feb. 17 and run through early March, marking the start of a new year on the traditional lunar calendar.<\/p>\n
The 12-year Chinese zodiac cycle names this one the Year of the Horse \u2014 associated with ambition and exploration.<\/p>\n
At the BRC Senior Center in Chinatown, the mood was more relaxed but just as festive. During an arts and crafts session, seniors cut and glued bright decorations for their homes and community spaces.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot to me. The New Year is the best. It’s so exciting. We get to wear new clothes, we get to eat a big feast,\u201d said Wendy Lui, an Astoria resident who plans to sing a traditional song when she gathers with family.<\/p>\n
For many, the holiday is rooted in food as much as music and dance.<\/p>\n
Rachel Yipleung, of Bellerose, who was born in Hong Kong, stopped by the new location of longtime Chinatown bakery Ho Won N on Forsyth Street to stock up on traditional treats.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is Fa Gao. That means Fat Choy, that means make a lot of money,\u201d she said, pointing to a small, round cake.<\/p>\n
Behind the counter, trays were already stacked high.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is all made today already,\u201d said owner and baker Warren Lee, showing trays of cakes. \u201cAnd these are trays of Nian Gao.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lee said preparing for Lunar New Year requires strategy. Some sweets, heavy with sugar, can be made in advance. Others are best left until the day of.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As red lanterns went up and shop windows filled with paper cutouts, David Jaing was checking the mouth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135345,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2296,25,231,9,24,12,56,63,65,64,10387,27,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-135344","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-app-human-interest","9":"tag-app-top-stories","10":"tag-human-interest","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-ny","15":"tag-nyc","16":"tag-nyc-headlines","17":"tag-nyc-news","18":"tag-ron-lee","19":"tag-top-stories","20":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}