Friday afternoon, I found myself running an errand in New York City’s Chinatown. It turned out to be the most festive errand ever.

The streets were covered with rainbow confetti and glitter for blocks! The sound of rhythmic drums was in the air along with more confetti, flying through the air like unicorn snow.

What was going on in Chinatown, NYC this February?

It was the start of Chinese New Year celebrations! It’s the lunar new year of the dog, so there were little dog characters every where. Along with lucky red lanterns and colorful lions, from little puppets to life-sized dancers.

Lunar New Year NYC celebration in Chinatown

Very stylized lions I should mention! They are a tradition of New Year celebrations. I grew up on the edge of San Francisco’s Chinatown and heard the drums of traditional lion dancing every year in February.

There was a lion dancing group that practiced just across the street from my childhood home. Stumbling across this celebration felt like stumbling into something so familiar and foreign at the same time.

This is how crowded the streets were! It’s hard to see, but the drum that drives the green and pink lions to dance is underneath those flags.

This little guy dances to the beat of his own drummer…

The Chinese New Year celebrations of my youth never had the rainbow confetti popper outpouring that I saw of the streets of NYC. Is that a testament to timing – the difference between 1998 and 2018? Or is it a difference between coasts – my more environmentally conscious home state of California? I have no idea! I’ll have to ask my high school friends who still live in SF!

Gah, my California side knows glitter is destroying our oceans, but my NYC side says it’s so fun and pretty!

It’s once a year New Year’s magic. It’s only year of the dog once ever 12 years!

The Lunar calendar goes in 12 year cycles. Do you know your Chinese zodiac sign? I’m year of the tiger. Yes, I’m pretty pleased to have such a bad ass sign!

Have you ever celebrated Chinese New Year? Are you sad that you missed the festivities in Chinatown this year? Well don’t be! The celebration continues through next weekend concluding with the Lunar New Year Parade and Festival on Sunday, February 25th. Plenty of time to coat the streets with confetti again and figure out your zodiac sign!