The Chinese New Year’s Celebration 2024, Seen Thru The Eyes Of An American Tourist
I had never attended a Chinese New Year celebration before and I heard it was a huge festivity in Yaowarat China town in Bangkok, Thailand, so I made it a priority on my travel to do list.
I expected it to be somewhat similar to the New Year’s Celebrations I was used to in the United States with an array of colorful fireworks decorating the sky at midnight while piped in patriotic Chinese music played in the background.
That didn’t happen but a lot of other amazing activities did.
The Festivities Started In Late Afternoon
By the time I arrived by a tuk tuk at 3 p.m. in the afternoon on February 9th, the main street was packed with tourists and local shoppers.
The venders were selling a variety of unique memorabilia items like these dragons wrapped around wooden sticks.
The food stalls were already set up and selling traditional Thai food like mango sticky rice, moo ping, (pork skewers), and roasted chicken or Cornish hens on skewers.
The restaurants also serve the New Year seasonal specialties. Each food symbolizes good blessings to come:
-longevity noodles for living a long wholesome life
-whole steamed fish for abundance.
-Spring rolls for wealth
-Whole chicken for luck and wholeness
Sweet rice balls for family togetherness.
The Colors Of The Festival
Most of the natives wore the festive red and gold shirts and dresses sold by the clothing venders.
Red is an important color for the Celebration. The Chinese believe that wearing bright shades of red will bring good fortune and abundance in the new year.
Beside the clothing, brightly lit red lanterns are also hung along the street and in shops and restaurants.
Those born in the year of the dragon dress in the lucky colors gold or yellow. The Chinese believe the color brings in good fortune and prosperity.
The Dancing Dragons
From Down the main street I could hear a steady drumming growing louder as it approached.
Soon a red and a lime green dancing dragon appeared on the street making their way thru the crowd
followed by the percussionists. One boy is keeping a steady beat on the “tanggu” (the ceremonial hall drum), while a boy behind him accompanys rhythmically on the cymbals.
Why Are The Dancing Dragons So Important?
I had to do some research to learn about the significance of the dancing dragons.
Here’s what I found out:
The reason for all of the dragon decor is because 2024 is the year of the dragon, the fifth animal of the twelve year Chinese calendar cycle. Previous dragon years were 2012, 2000, 1988, 1976, 1964, 1952, and so on. The next year of the dragon will be 2036.
The festival is also called the lunar festival because it is based on the Chinese lunar and solar calender. It usually happens between late January to late February.
The Chinese believe the dragon to be a symbol of power that has control over water, rain, hurricanes, and floods, so when the dragon dances, it drives away evil spirits and ushers in good luck and blessings for the community
People born in the year of the dragon are thought to have a strong sense of self, are more likely to be successful, and find happiness in their lifetimes.
The Final Dragon Dance Is Performed At Midnight
The dragons do their final ritualistic dance to the intense beating of the drum and clanging cymbals as firecrackers are ignited on the ground at the stroke of midnight.
The dance winds down to an end soon after all of the firecrackers have finished exploding.
After the ceremony has ended, the locals go to the temple for a quiet time of prayer, meditation, and to pay tribute to their ancesters.
Incense are lit to purify the space and invoke Buddhist divinities.
On New Year’s Day, families don’t do much but spend time together and do a lot of eating. It’s a time for rest and relaxation after a night of intense excitement.
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