Last night I got takeout from a popular Chinese restaurant in my neighborhood. In celebration of Chinese New Year (a.k.a. Lunar New Year), the establishment was decorated with Gong Hei Fa Choi cutouts, consisting of one lucky boy and one lucky girl, and firecracker displays. According to the Chinese zodiac cycle, this is the Year of the Tiger, which signifies bravery and keeps away three main tragedies of a household: fire, thieves and ghosts.

On my way out, I also picked up a copy of Washington Chinese News to get a sense of how the New Year is celebrated. Now keep in mind that 95% of the newspaper is written in Chinese so I would have to figure out the content by photos and English captions. Like a typical paper, it contained articles on business groups, local activities, national and international issues, and had advertisements for lawyers, doctors, real estate agents and travel agencies.  Throughout the paper, there were numerous New Year messages from city, state and national politicians, including President Obama, as well as from local business leaders and organizations. In addition, commercial businesses such as grocery stores, restaurants and banks gave special discounts on products and services.

As mentioned in a previous blog, I have taken part in celebrating the Chinese New Year with a colleague. However, after perusing this paper, I am now interested in attending the Chinese New Year parade in Chinatown; hopefully, I am not too late.