Despite the slushy ground cover and freezing temperatures, a chorus of drummers and lion dancers rang in the Lunar New Year in Boston’s Chinatown Sunday.
The small performing groups from some of Boston’s Asian cultural organizations and martial arts studios traveled from business to business, performing a traditional routine to spread prosperity and scare away evil.
After one such performance, thousands of firecrackers went off at once, submerging Harrison Ave in a thick cloud of smoke, their crackling noise loud enough to drown out the loudest drummers. It was “almost deafening,” said spectator Sage Kumar.
“They lit them up, and lion dancers were just dancing around on top of them,” she said. “It was just a cascade of noise.”
Out of the dense smoke, pairs of dancers moved in perfect tandem, so much so that — for a second — a very colorful animal appeared loose in the streets.
A mixture of snow and confetti floated down onto the wonderstruck crowd. Behind the lion dancers, a snake puppet manned by eight performers slithered through the street, symbolizing the year’s zodiac animal.
The parade has been a Boston tradition for over 70 years and, for many, provides a much-needed cultural connection.
Galina Tan is a member of Gund Kwok, founded in 1998 as the first all-women’s lion and dragon dance troupe in the country. She and her fellow performers have been practicing for months up to today’s parade.
Tan, originally from Singapore, moved to the United States when she was 10. She struggled to connect back to her culture — but, in lion dancing, she found a way to bridge the gap.
“It wasn’t until joining this troupe a few years ago where I really felt like I could really showcase and actually connect with parts of my roots that I never had a connection with before.”
Along with the heavy drumbeats, “Gong Hei Fat Choy” — a Cantonese wish of prosperity for the new year — was shouted on every corner.
