Mark your calendars for the Year of the Ram/Goat/Sheep. Chinatown’s Lunar New Year festivities get underway next Thursday, Feb. 19.
On that day, the annual Firecracker Festival takes place in Sara D. Roosevelt Park at 11 a.m. (Grand Street & Forsyth Street).
Then, the Better Chinatown Society’s Lunar Near Year Parade kicks off from the intersection of Canal/Mott streets at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22. You can have a look at the map here.
Curious about the murkiness regarding what this is the year of? The Daily News offered an explanation the other day:
The year 2015 is associated with the Mandarin word “yang.” Lunar New Year celebrations, which begin on Feb. 19, will say goodbye to the Year of the Horse and usher in another animal in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. “That means any ruminant mountain animal with horns,” said Lenny Cheng, who works in the Brooklyn branch of the Chinese-American Planning Council. For Asian American groups, interpreting “yang” — and translating it to English — yields varying results. “We personally use ram, because we feel that it is right in the middle between sheep and goat,” Cheng said. The group Better Chinatown USA, which organizes a parade through Manhattan’s Chinatown and a firecracker ceremony in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, has settled on the Year of the Goat. “It’s the translation – some people use goat, some sheep. We just decided, goat is more popular. No big reason,” said Steven Tin, Better Chinatown’s executive director.
