Welcoming a New Year in an Old Neighborhood

This old neighborhood in Lower Manhattan has been known as “Chinatown” since the mid-eighteenth century.

While it hasn’t been the center of New York’s Chinese life for decades, the area remains the city’s oldest and best-known Chinatown (New York’s other Chinatowns are located in Sunset Park, Brooklyn and Flushing, Queens) and it is still the site of the region’s largest lunar New Year celebration.

Today, the narrow, twisting streets were filled beyond capacity as thousands of people squeezed in to buy souvenirs, cheer the dancers, drummers and marchers, and twist the cardboard tubes of confetti shooters ($5 each! Three for $10!) until their contents exploded, showering the crowd with shiny paper and foil.

This year, as the parade welcoming the Year of the Rat drew to a end, a sudden, fierce snowstorm erupted. The swirling white flakes mixed with the brightly-colored steamers, delighting the children, quickly clearing out the celebrants and creating a memorable close to this chilly, festive day.

New Year’s decorations for sale on Mott Street

The streets were packed

The star of the day, the New Year’s Rat

Getting a good view of the parade

Boy with a lion costume

Displaying white lion mask

Good thing Dad is tall

Some kids can’t see a thing

Wearing mouse ears to honor the Rat

Grown-ups wore mouse ears, too

Metallic streamers landed in her hair

Father & daughter try to trigger confetti shooter

Boy with confetti shooter

Girl with New Year’s sweets

Paper dragon in a storefront

Enthralled by the spectacle

A smile as big as the parade

Girl having a great time

The air was filled with confetti

That isn’t just paper falling!

It’s snowing!

The crowd starts to clear out

Soon only the police are left walking through the storm