
Courtesy Bellagio Las Vegas
"Our
dragons represent all of the elements: water, fire, wood, earth and
metal," said Andres Garcia, executive director of Horticulture at
Bellagio in Las Vegas.
By Harriet Baskas, msnbc.com contributor
The
Chinese New Year (also known as the Lunar New Year) begins on Jan. 23
and will be welcomed in Asian communities with 15 days of food,
firecrackers and fanfare designed to ensure that the Year of the Dragon
is full of good fortune.
In the Chinese zodiac, the dragon is the
most auspicious symbol of success and happiness, so this year’s
celebrations will have a special meaning. “The dragon is very bold,
unafraid and strong,” said Karen Eng, spokesperson for the Southwest
Airlines Chinese New Year Festival and Parade held in San Francisco.
“And in China, the dragon is the symbol of the emperor and the son of
heaven.”
Major Chinese New Year celebrations will be held Hong Kong,
Singapore, Sydney and many other cities around the world, including
these five U.S. cities.
New YorkIn
New York City, the Chinese New Year kicks off with a bang — literally —
on Jan. 23 at the Firecracker Ceremony and Cultural Festival in
Roosevelt Park in Manhattan’s Chinatown neighborhood. Chinatown’s Lunar
New Year Parade and Festival takes place Jan. 29 and will fill
Chinatown’s streets with floats, marching bands, lion and dragon dances,
musical performances, acrobats, magicians and more. More details at
http://explorechinatown.com/
Seattle Seattle
celebrates the Lunar New Year with a festival on Jan. 28 in the
Chinatown–International District in Hing Hay Park. Activities include
lion and dragon dances, Taiko drumming, martial arts, a food walk
featuring a neighborhood-wide tasting menu and the third annual
children’s costume parade contest. More details at
http://www.cidbia.org/events/lunar-new-year-celebration-2012-year-of-the-dragon.
Washington, D.C.In Washington, D.C., the Chinese consolidated Benevolent Society will host its
Chinese New Year Parade
on Jan. 29 in the city’s downtown Chinatown neighborhood with kung fu
demonstrations, a dragon dance, a lion dance, costumed dancers and the
lighting of a giant firecracker. That same day, Washington, D.C.’s
Chinatown Community Cultural Center will
host a Chinese New Year Festival with hands-on arts and craft projects,
cultural displays and performances. On Feb. 3, the Textile Museum opens
“
Dragons, Nagas, and Creatures of the Deep,” an exhibit filled with textiles depicting dragons and other legendary creatures.

Knight Lights Photography
San Francisco's illuminated nighttime parade is one of the largest Chinese New Year parades outside of Asia.
San FranciscoWith
6,000 participants, 22 floats and
numerous marching bands, drill teams and school groups, San Francisco’s
illuminated nighttime parade, held this year on Feb. 11, is one of the
largest Chinese New Year parades outside of Asia.
In addition to a
250-foot-long dragon (“Gum Lung”) that must be held up by a team of 100
men and women, this year’s parade will include the Cangzhou Liuji Lion
Dance Team, which features acrobatics and martial arts, and the Jingxing
Lahua Art Troup from China’s Hebei Province. “Their dancing rhythm is
created by such motions as wrist turning, arm gnarling and leg
whiffing,” said parade spokesperson Karen Eng. “And their props include
big vases, umbrellas and fans.” More details at
http://www.chineseparade.com/
On
Jan. 29, anyone born in the Year of the Dragon (1928, 1940, 1952, 1964,
1976, 1988, 2000 and 2012) will receive free admission to the Lunar New
Year Celebration being held at the
San Francisco Zoo, where entertainment will include acrobatic performances, traditional lion and folk dancing, Chinese yo-yo tricks and more.
Las Vegas Several hotels in Las Vegas are welcoming in the Chinese New Year in a big way as well.
On Jan. 23 at 1 p.m., a dragon dance will begin at
The Venetian and
make its way through the casino to the waterfall at the atrium gardens
in The Palazzo, where the unveiling of a 128-foot, fire-breathing dragon
will take place. The dragon will breathe fire daily at 1 and 5 p.m.
through Feb. 5.
There are multiple dragons in
Bellagio’s Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
“Our dragons represent all of the elements: water, fire, wood, earth
and metal,” said Andres Garcia, executive director of Horticulture at
Bellagio. “Each dragon has more then 20,000 hand-painted scales and is
able to move its tails and arms, and blow steam.”
Amidst a zigzag bridge, a gazebo and a 21,000-gallon pond stocked
with more than 200 koi fish, visitors will find a giant water-themed
centerpiece with two 25-foot, blue dragons that regularly blow steam
from their nostrils, two 15-foot-long green and gold animated dragons
that lunge towards the dragons in the centerpiece and two brown and red
animated dragons surrounded by oversized silk red Chinese lanterns and
gold-leafed I-Ching coins, a traditional Chinese symbol for money.
Bellagio’s Chinese New Year garden and daily performances featuring authentic Chinese instruments continue through March 3.

Feng Li / Getty Images
Millions around the world celebrate the Lunar New Year, which begins on Jan. 23., and welcomes the year of the dragon.
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