Everyone knows about the ball drop in Times Square on January 1st. But there’s another New Year’s celebration that doesn’t happen until the end of February (perfect for a chronically late person like myself).

Lunar New Year! Gung Hay Fat Choy! That’s how you say “Happy New Year” in Chinese. Today is the start of Chinese New Year, so if you hear a loud explosion of fire crackers, now you know why.

It’s the Year of the Ram by the Lunar calendar. Or Sheep. Some will even say Goat. \Apparently there’s been significant debate on this. I consider myself lucky to have been born in the Year of the Tiger. You may try to argue otherwise if you’re not a tiger yourself, but tigers are totally the coolest of the 12 animals in the Chinese Zodiac.

Now you all have the perfect excuse to order Chinese food tonight! If you’re in NYC this weekend, I highly recommend checking out the Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade & Festival this Sunday, February 22st [EDITED!! MY SOURCE TOLD ME THE WRONG DATE BEFORE]. The high is 35 degrees, which will feel balmy after all the teen highs we’ve been getting this month. It’s a really fun event and I don’t know about you, but I could use a festive excuse to venture outside! My buddy Sage and I went two years ago and it was a blast! He made this awesome vlog of our Chinatown New Year Adventure:

What do you think the weirdest thing we say in Chinatown was? Can you believe Sage had never heard of Pocky? Or are you in the same boat as him! Also, maybe you can’t tell on film so well, but Chinese pastries are seriously the best. Also super cheap. If you go to the parade, do yourself a favor: walk into a bakery and try a bunch of different things. Roast pork buns are classic, if you like meat, you can’t go wrong!

Time Out NY has more info about the parade and other ways to celebrate here. Happy New Year, everyone! What Chinese Zodiac sign are you?