Celebrate Lunar New Year 2021 and the Year of the Ox!

In Chinese culture, the Ox is a valued animal. Because of its role in agriculture, positive characteristics, such as being hardworking and honest, are attributed to it. As for zodiac sign characteristics, oxen are honest and earnest. They are low key and never look for praise or to be the center of attention. This often hides their talent, but they gain recognition through their hard work. Though they are kind, it’s difficult for them to understand persuasion using pathos. Rarely losing their temper, they think logically and make great leaders.

Lunar New Year is a fifteen-day celebration that starts on the new moon (also known as Chinese New Year, Spring Festival, or "Little Year"). On the New Year, people participate in traditional activities such as:

• Sweeping out the old year and welcoming in the new
• Cooking special foods
• Honoring ancestors
• Distributing and receiving red envelopes for good fortune
• Participating in the special dragon/lion dance
• Making loud noises with firecrackers

Due to the ongoing pandemic, some of these activities, like gathering for the annual lion dance in Chinatown, have been altered to virtual instead of public gatherings.

• The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation will host a virtual event and fundraiser on Friday, February 26 at 4:00 p.m. to celebrate the Lunar New Year and help support neighborhood businesses.
   
• The Philadelphia Orchestra currently has an on-demand digital concert available until February 14, featuring Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting the premiere recording of Tan Dun’s Nu Shu: The Secret Songs of Women symphony, as well as a performance of The Butterfly Lovers concerto.
   
• What would any celebration be without food? You can have an authentic and festive Lunar New Year buying food from local Asian-owned restaurants and grocery stores throughout Philadelphia.
   
• Last but certainly not least, you can browse and check out books and videos from our catalog that explore the hidden gems of Asian culture and the Lunar New Year!