The particular Chinese language yr of the wooden snake is about transformation and alter — and people celebrating it in Manhattan’s Chinatown on Sunday mentioned even the downpour couldn’t dampen their hopes for it.
“It’s a brand new yr. A brand new place to begin. New power. A brand new starting. Yearly you get an opportunity for a brand new starting,” mentioned Lena Tan, 60, who danced within the parade with East Tradition Artwork Inc. to usher to start with of the lunar new yr.
Paul Gordon, 48, who turned out for the parade along with his Filipino-Chinese language spouse and household as they they do yearly, added, “The primary yr ever in 15 years that I’ve seen a lot rain.
“I stay up for this parade,” he mentioned. “I stay up for the nice meals, to seeing the group coming collectively, everyone bonding over the identical factor. It’s good to see everybody coming collectively.”
“Final yr we had the most important crowd. This yr we nonetheless obtained crowd with the rain,” Gordon mentioned.
Even because the rain fell, the parade’s marchers carried on beneath ponchos and umbrellas, whereas viewers lining the slim sidewalks crowded beneath awnings to attempt to maintain dry.
The rain lastly cleared by mid-afternoon, and the remainder of the parade went off and not using a hitch.
“I’m excited to be right here, rain or shine,” mentioned metropolis Councilman Christopher Marte, whose district consists of Chinatown.
“It’s a historic occasion that occurs yearly right here in Chinatown, and it’s nice to see so many individuals out right here within the rain,” he mentioned.
Sunday’s celebration kicked off the yr of the snake — though extra particularly, the wooden snake, which hasn’t come round since 1965. The common yr of the snake happens each 12 years.
The yr of the wooden snake is meant to be a yr of change and upheaval — however one that may be constructive and produce about transformation.
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