Lion masks at a rehearsal space in Chinatown are waiting to be donned as the Philadelphia Suns lion dance groups get ready for a series of scheduled performances including the Lunar New Year Parade. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)

Ring in the Year of the Snake with firecrackers, lion dances, fresh oranges, red envelopes and more! This year, the Lunar New Year calendar begins on Wednesday, January 29 and in Asian countries across the world — including China and Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Macau, and Mauritius — that means 15 days of celebrations, ceremonies, and visiting of family and friends. 

Why the snake? Much like our Gregorian calendar, the lunar calendar features 12 zodiac signs, but instead of symbols from Greek mythology and astrology, the Chinese zodiac symbols are of animals, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. People born in the year of the Snake are said to have traits of wisdom, intuition and caring, and to be intelligent and good problem-solvers. These include people born in 2025, 2013, 2001, 1989, 1977, 1965, 1953, and 1941. 

If you want to do some celebrating of your own to welcome the Year of the Snake, we’ve got you covered: Here is some Lunar New Year 101 info and our recommendations for where you should shop, eat, and go to participate in the fun. 

Lucky cats for the lunar new year on Pine Street. (Instagram by bookczuk)

Symbols and Traditions

Red is a common color across Lunar New Year celebrations, appearing in decorations, clothing, and more as ways to invite luck, prosperity, and happiness into the home for the new year. 

In Chinese culture, bright colors such as gold, orange, and purple are also worn to scare away evil spirits and bad fortune for the coming new year. Gold represents wealth and good fortune. As the new year is a springtime holiday, the bright colors and new clothing also represent rebirth – new beginnings. Green represents springtime and flowers. Homes and stores are decorated with sprigs of plum blossom, narcissus, and sunflowers, as well as sticks of bamboo and leafy bunches of kumquats and oranges. These blooms and fruits symbolize good fortune and life.

How a color or other symbolic item sounds when spoken in Mandarin or Cantonese also plays a part in how lucky it is. For example, “red” is spoken as “hong,” which sounds like the word for “prosperous.” Good luck numbers include six and eight, but NOT four, as the sound for “four” sounds like the sound for “death.”  

The Lion Dance is possibly the most visible and entertaining part of Chinese New Year celebrations in America. It is a ritual done not just during new year celebrations but also during the grand openings of new businesses and celebrations like weddings and festivals in order to ward off evil spirits and bring prosperity to the new endeavor. 

As with the Philadelphia Suns, lion dance groups are also an opportunity to provide educational, athletic, and cultural support for local youth. 

In Vietnamese culture, various plants and fruits are popular symbols of growth, peace, good fortune, and happiness for the Lunar New Year, or Tết. Specific symbols often depend on which region people reside in – but fruits like oranges or pomelos can serve as a sign of prosperity, while things like peach blossoms or cherry trees can signal good fortune. 

Vietnamese traditions range widely as well. “Xông Đất,” or The First Visitor of the Year, centers on the belief that the first visitor into the house during the New Year will influence the fortune and fate of the new year. This often involves inviting select guests with good character, morals, and success into the house first to ensure good fortune for the new year. Another popular tradition is Lì Xì, or red envelopes. Typically, elders give these envelopes to young children and adults to signal success and good fortune in the year ahead. 

Food is also symbolic for the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. In the North, Banh Chung, a sticky rice cake with banana leaves, is typically the most popular dish. In Central Vietnam, the savory Bánh Tét cake with rice and green beans is often used to celebrate the new year. Thịt Kho Tàu – a pork and egg dish – is very popular in South Vietnam.

In Japanese culture, Lunar New Year celebrations are not as widespread here as in other countries. Japan has since aligned its practices with the modern New Year. These celebrations include traditions such as “Osouji,” or house cleaning, prior to the new year, visiting “hatsumode” shrines and temples to pray for good fortune, and “osechi-ryori” dishes, which are aesthetically arranged dishes with symbolic meaning. Various places throughout the country still celebrate the Lunar New Year, with festivals including lion and dragon dances, lanterns, costumes, and musical parades and performances. 

In Korean culture, Lunar New Year, or Seollal, there are many symbolic traditions, symbols, and cultural practices as well. Sebae is an important Korean tradition that involves kneeling on the ground and bowing deeply. This is often done while wearing hanbok, or traditional Korean clothes, and is often done by younger people to their elders to show respect. Another tradition is charye, which involves setting out food in front of a family’s ancestral tablets to show respect to their ancestors. 

During this time, exchanging gifts, including health products, fruit, or money are seen as signs of good luck, fortune, and prosperity. Additionally, kite flying, or yeonnalligi, is symbolic of letting go of old worries. Mandu, or Korean dumplings, are also popular to make and eat during this time.

Other countries, such as Malaysia, hold Lunar New Year celebrations as well, where festivities last 15 days. On the ninth day of festivities, Pai Thnee Kong (in Penang) or Thnee Kong Sei (in Hokkien) focus on making offerings – including things like fruit or flowers – to the Jade Emperor. On the final day of celebrations, residents also decorate their houses with bright light displays (Chap Goh Mei). 

The red envelope tradition, lion dances, and traditional Chinese New Year foods are featured in Lunar New Year celebrations all over Asia and the world. Specific traditions, symbols, and customs are often fully dependent on the region of celebration and family tradition. 

What to do and see

Parades, special dinners, cooking workshops, festivals, and more are scheduled across Philly and its suburbs over the next two weeks. Visit Philly has a list of some of the big ones, and we go further with more community events below to check out. 

This list is still developing, and we will update/add more items as we discover them. 

Full Lion Dance schedule for the Philadelphia Suns 

Tuesday-Wednesday, Jan. 28-29: Chinatown Lunar New Year Midnight Parade 

Welcome the Year of the Snake with fellow Philadelphians, complete with lion dancing, firecrackers, and music! Begins at 10 p.m. and continues through midnight. Another parade will be held during the day on Sunday, Feb. 2.

Jan. 29 to Feb. 1: Year of the Wood Snake Dinner at Kampar 

Experience a four-course tasting menu based on Chinese-Malaysian food traditions at Kampar. $138 + tax and drinks for the 4-course menu, including an 18-ingredient “prosperity salad” and 9-layer seafood and meat “poon choy” dish.

Friday, Jan. 31: Asian American Studies Teach-in 

Dr. Sonya Chen discusses policing, prisons, and Asian American solidarity at this teach-in at Ginger Arts Center from 1 to 3 p.m. Questions being answered include how Asian Americans fit into national conversations about the role of police and prisons in society, and what it looks like to re-orient Asian American politics towards visions of safety and justice.

Soup dumplings at Dim Sum Garden. (File photo/Billy Penn) Credit: Danya Henninger/Billy Penn

Feb. 1, 2, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 23: Dumpling Workshop

Enjoy culinary arts and an “innovative therapeutic recreational service” through various dumpling-making workshops with the Dumpling Academy. The event is primarily geared toward seniors,the  intellectually disabled, people who suffer from mental illness, and children, family and corporate teams. $125 + tax, with several options including weekday evenings and weekend nights and evenings. 

Saturday, Feb. 1: Various workshops and celebrations 

The Chinatown Friendship Gate at 10th and Arch streets. (Heather Chin/Billy Penn)

Sunday, Feb. 2

Monday, Feb. 3: A Night to Support Chinatown, featuring James Beard winner and activist Grace Young, is currently sold out, but the Online Auction portion will be open to the public and continue to fundraise for Asian Americans United while auctioning off unique experiences and one-of-a-kind prizes from businesses in the RICE Coalition and beyond.

Wednesday, Feb. 5: Taste of Chinatown at Crane Community Center

Friday, Feb. 7: PCDC Tangyuan Workshop

Enjoy a traditional Chinese dessert-making workshop from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Crane Community Center. For $20, you can learn how to make the Chinese rice balls that are served in hot broth or syrup. 

Saturday, Feb. 8

Thursday, Feb. 13: From 6 to 7:30 p.m., join the youth-led Ginger Arts Center for their fundraiser supporting Philadelphia’s Chinatown. The event will feature lion dances and performers, Chinatown eateries, community speakers, raffles, and more. 

Through Monday, Feb. 17: Lunar New Year at the Comcast Center Campus includes Saturday meet-and-greets with Po from “Kung Fu Panda,” as well as a “Kung Fu Panda” themed adventure for kids. On Feb. 17, enjoy a Philadelphia Suns lion dance performance, face painting, calligraphy, drawing classes, and more, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday, March 2: Lunar New Year Party

Join the Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance (API PA) at Asian Arts Initiative for their annual Lunar New Year Party, full of lion dancing, delicious food, and celebrating the past year of resilience and strength as the Year of the Snake brings transformation, rebirth, and wisdom. RSVP here. (1 to 4 p.m.)

Where to Grocery Shop

Above all, the new year is primarily a time for family and fresh starts. That means doing some early spring cleaning, shopping for fresh flowers and gifts, and celebrating with lucky foods. 

Across Philadelphia’s Asian American community, family-run and chain markets don’t just provide fresh food, but also a taste of home and a sense of community, for immigrants and longtime residents alike.

As Philly restauranteur Judy Ni sums up, ”Many of the area’s markets are actually ‘hidden treasures.’ ” 

Whether you want to make dumplings at home or grab some takeout and snacks, these shops have got you covered. 

Chinatown

  • Asianfresh Food Market (144 N. 10th Street)
  • Heng Fa Supermarket (at N. 10th and Cherry Streets) 
  • EnJoy Market (basement of 143 N. 11th Street) 
  • Most bakeries in the area for classic traditional Lunar New Year treats

South Philly

  • Oregon Market at 3rd and Oregon (320 W Oregon Ave.)
  • No. 1 Asian Supermarket (2842 St. Vincent Street)
  • Hung Vuong Food Market (1122 Washington Avenue)
  • Ba Le Bakery (606 Washington Avenue)

West Philly

  • Alrayyan Food Market (121 S. 43rd Street)
  • Dana Mandi at (4211 Chestnut Street)
  • International Foods & Spices at (4203 Walnut Street) 

Elsewhere

  • H-Mart, which has a food court! (Elkins Park, Olney) 
  • Maido (Ardmore) 
  • Hung Vuong Food Market (6420 Sackett Street inside Mayfair Shopping Center)
A meal at Sate Kampar, which served Malaysian food on East Passyunk. (File photo/Billy Penn)

Where to Eat 

For 150 years, Philly’s Chinatown has served as a hub and launching pad for new immigrant communities from across the Asian American diaspora, which eventually spread South, West, Northeast, and into the suburbs.

The following lists are by no means exhaustive or comprehensive, but it will give you a starting point from where to find what you and your taste buds are looking for!

Good for Groups 

  • Tai Lake Seafood Restaurant (134 N. 10th Street)
  • EMei (915 Arch Street)
  • Sang Kee Peking Duck House (238 N. 9th Street, plus a stall in Reading Terminal Market)
  • Bubblefish (909 Arch Street)
  • Vietnam Restaurant (221 N. 11th Street)
  • Chubby Cattle Shabu (146 N. 10th Street)
  • Kampar (611 S. 7th Street)
  • Han Dynasty (110 Chestnut Street and 3711 Market Street)
  • Mei Mei (33 S. 2nd Street)
  • Banana Leaf Malaysian (1009 Arch Street)
  • Seorabol (1326 Spruce Street)

Social Media Stars 

  • Mawn (764 S. 9th St) is a perpetually packed Cambodian noodle house with reservations booking far in advance, whose chef Phila Lorn is a 2025 James Beard Award semifinalist for Emerging Chef. 
  • Càphê Roasters (3400 J St G1) is the first and only Vietnamese specialty coffee roastery in Philadelphia, operating in Kensington with a seasonal menu of sweet and savory dishes. 
  • Hardena (1754 S Hicks St #2217) kept their small business alive during the COVID pandemic in part through regular “pizza box” drops full of carefully prepared, home-cooked Indonesian food. 
  • Kalaya, a Thai restaurant in Fishtown (4 W. Palmer St.) is another James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurant, with owner/chef Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon a 2023 Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic winner. 

Dim Sum 

For classic dim sum with rolling carts of food, there’s Ocean Harbor (1023 Race Street) and Ocean City (234 N. 9th Street, next to Sang Kee) in Chinatown, China Gourmet (2842 St. Vincent Street) in Northeast Philly, and Grand Palace (600 Washington Ave #3B) in South Philly. 

Far more options exist for a la carte dim sum, to the point where we might have reached a saturation point in some areas, like how Race Street between 10th and 11th Streets has three dim sum spots within 200 feet of one another. 

  • Dim Sum Garden (1024 Race St) just celebrated a move to a larger space, which is a good thing since the popular soup dumpling spot often has lines out the door, even in winter. 
  • Dim Sum House by Jane G’s in University City (3939 Chestnut Street, 2nd Floor) offers all-day Cantonese and Shanghai dim sum, as well as dishes from the Jiang Nan region of China.
  • Tom’s Dim Sum (59 N. 11th Street) sits beneath the overpass of the Pennsylvania Convention Center and is a popular spot for tourists and residents alike.
  • Nom Wah Philadelphia (218 N. 13th Street) is the Philly outpost of NYC’s oldest continuously operating dim sum restaurant.
  • Ray’s Cafe and Tea House (141 N. 9th St) is frequently on the lips of Philadelphians and visitors alike as a beloved and cozy family-run spot for coffee and classic treats alike.
  • Dodo Bakery (2653 S. 11th St) brings reliable and delicious dim sum to South Philly.
  • Dim Sum Kingdom (1020 Race St) is the newest addition to the lineup, opening in Dim Sum Garden’s previous space.

Heather Chin is Billy Penn's deputy editor. She previously was a digital producer at the Inquirer and an editor at outlets both print and digital — from national breaking news service Flipboard to hyperlocal...