On Feb. 2, thousands of residents from D.C. and neighboring areas gathered in Chinatown to watch the annual Lunar New Year parade, welcoming the Year of the Snake. The parade, which traveled through seven blocks of Chinatown, celebrates the beginning of a new year in the lunar calendar. The holiday is celebrated in several countries including China, Vietnam, and South Korea.
The parade, organized by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of D.C. in partnership with the D.C. Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, lasted about 50 minutes and featured over 60 groups. Some of these groups included D.C. institutions such as the D.C. Police Academy and Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District, as well as performance groups like the Chinese Youth Club Lion Dance Troupe and the Wong’s People Lion Dance Troupe. The parade also highlighted many other Chinese and Asian American organizations, including schools, museums, centers, and private and public organizations.
One group, the Shaolin Temple Kung Fu School, presented a performance of Kung Fu martial arts. Abigail, age 11, performed with her troupe.
“Well, we kind of did the same thing over and over,” Abigail said of both the performance and the students’ practice regimen. “But it was very fun.”
Abigail attended the parade with her mother, Faith Wong, who cheered on her daughter from the sidelines. Wong is a first-generation immigrant from Taiwan.
“I grew up in Taiwan. I came here when I was 18—before 18. I married an American, so I got this one,” she laughed, pointing to her daughter.
For Wong and her daughter, the parade is a way to keep the spirit of the Lunar New Year alive. Wong reminisced on her family’s Lunar New Year traditions from when she was in Taiwan.
“When I was growing up, on New Year’s Eve, we would make dumplings—the whole family,” Wong said. “Just sit down and make dumplings.”
Like Wong, JP Zhao, who immigrated to America from China more than 30 years ago, had a similar family tradition.
“We cook dumplings, cook a lot, and the whole family gathers,” Zhao said.
For many immigrants, Lunar New Year and the parade provide an opportunity to build new traditions and stay connected with their culture, passing it down to their children.
Zhao first attended the Lunar New Year parade more than 10 years ago, when she moved to D.C. from Dallas, Texas. One of her favorite parts of the parade is the lion dances, Zhao said.
The parade brought together many diverse organizations and people in a cultural celebration. The streets were lined up with people holding flags from various Asian countries and organizations.
“I was surprised by how many people were in it,” Wong said. “Because I am Taiwanese, and you know how Taiwan and China have issues. I was like, ‘There are more flag places here than in Taiwan.’”
Wong wasn’t the only one pleased by the scale of the event. Kristi Widjaja, an international student at George Washington University from Indonesia, who is ethnically Chinese, was pleasantly surprised at how many people turned out to support the parade.
“It’s a lot of people,” Widjaja said. “I wasn’t expecting this much people, but I am glad everyone in D.C. came to see this whole thing.”
Widjaja was grateful to celebrate the holiday, despite being away from home.
“It [Lunar New Year] means a lot to me,” Widjaja said. “Now, I’m an international student, so I am away from home. Last week, my family at home was celebrating Chinese New Year together, and I was all alone. Honestly, it’s not all bad. I still feel the spirit through them.”
