This was our first year joining the Chinese New Year celebration in Philadelphia’s Chinatown. Happy Year of the Rooster and Gung Hay Fat Choy.
Philadelphia Suns parade
We headed to Chinatown to see the Philadelphia Suns‘ annual Lion Dance celebration. We arrived 10:30am on Sunday to an almost deserted street. As we took a walk around the block, the crowd magically appeared. We squeezed in and waited with the other clueless tourists. We all assumed the parade would march beneath the famous Friendship Gate on 10th and Arch. Wrong! We bolted en masse as we watched the procession in the distance, slowly heading down Race Street.
Lion Dance
The parade covers two square blocks but took over two hours to complete. That’s because the three lions (two dancers per lion) visit and perform for virtually every business on both sides of the street. The merchant provides the firecrackers and bestows a red paper envelope(money gift) to the lions. The lion dancers reward him by ceremonially chomping down the dangling lettuce and setting off the explosives. The more firecrackers provided, the longer and louder the dance. And presumably the more good luck for the coming year.
The lions were accompanied by musicians banging drums and gongs to synchronize the lions’ movements. The Philly Suns all wore kerchiefs and headphones as protection against the smoke and loud blasts. Every few stops, the lion dancers would switch off. Some parents covered their tots’ ears during the worst, but the children seemed captivated by the spectacle. Afterwards, we enjoyed a traditional dim sum brunch near home.
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