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‘It feels like home’: Chinatown celebrates the Year of the Horse
Snow or shine, Chinatown’s annual Lunar New Year parade returned Sunday as about 10 lion dance troupes wove through the neighborhood.
The snowfall didn’t stop Chinatown from bursting into color and sound Sunday morning.
As drums thundered through Phillips Square, red envelopes — symbols of good fortune — passed from hand to hand. Beneath steady flurries, bright lions blinked, bowed, and sprang toward the crowd, marking the start of Chinatown’s annual Lunar New Year parade celebrating the Year of the Horse.
The celebration, organized by Chinatown Main Street in coordination with the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New England, featured about 10 groups performing lion dances throughout the neighborhood, said CCBA President Felix Lui.
“New Years is an important day and event for the Chinese people, so they can get family together,” Lui said. “This is the best time for everyone to get together, seeing each other [and] enjoying a good time before going back to work.”
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At each stop along the route, lions danced in front of storefronts and snapped their jaws around a head of lettuce. Performers shook shredded leaves back into the streets and tossed oranges toward the crowd. Catching one is believed to bring good luck in the year ahead, Lui said.
The lion dance is most commonly performed during Lunar New Year but also appears at weddings, birthdays, and other major events, said Cheng Imm Tan, founder and director of Gund Kwok, the first all-women Asian lion and dragon dance troupe in the U.S.
“The significance of the lion dance is to chase away all things bad and to bring in all things good,” Tan said. “The lion dance brings in prosperity and good luck.”
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Tan said Gund Kwok has performed at the parade several times, but this year the troupe added a twist: Between drumbeats, a performer in a brown horse costume danced for spectators to a remixed acoustic version of “Beat It” by Michael Jackson — a nod to the Year of the Horse.
“As part of our creativity, we like doing things that are different and are uniquely choreographed,” Tan said.
After each performance, the groups moved down the block, stopping at local businesses to deliver another dance and set off strings of firecrackers.
Members of Wong Keung lion danced outside Mei Sum Bakery, where owner Xi Xian Lei stepped out with his phone raised, recording as the lion bobbed toward the entrance.
“It feels like home right now,” Lei said.
For Gund Kwok, performing carries particular meaning, Tan said. Traditionally, women were not allowed to learn or perform the lion dance due to long-held beliefs that they were physically weaker, she explained.
“We’re here to prove that’s not the case,” Tan said. “Women are just as strong and capable.”
Four-year-old Dallas Cutlip sat on his father’s shoulders, watching the lions lunge toward the crowd. When his father, Jason Cutlip, asked his favorite part, Dallas pointed to the bright red and gold costumes in the center of the crowd and said “Dragons.”
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“We wanted to come see the show, the parade, and it’s a great day to get the kids out of the house and show them a different culture,” Jason Cutlip said. “We just wanted to see all the different costumes and be a part of the parade.”
Amanda Wong, who has attended the parade multiple times, said this year’s celebration felt less crowded than in previous years.
“Two years ago, it was super packed. It was hard to move around, and he was super young,” she said, pointing to her 4-year-old son, Clayton. “But now that he’s a bit older, he’s actually able to take advantage of watching.”
At one point, a lion lowered its head to Clayton’s height, opening and closing its mouth before nodding gently.
“The lion dances are cool to watch because they’re engaging with the crowd,” attendee Selina Spry said.
For Spry and her friend Caitlin Jung, it was their first time attending the parade.
“The atmosphere is just so electric,” Jung said.
“It’s just fun to see the whole city embrace the spirit of the culture and the excitement of the New Year,” Spry added.
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