The Lunar New Year (or Spring Festival) starts on Sunday. This year will be the Year of the Snake.
Millions of Chinese people around the world will ring in the new year with reunion dinners, dumplings, fireworks and lion dances.
Of course there are serious celebrations in China, but there are some pretty awesome parties right here in the U.S. From L.A. to New York, we've found the best places to celebrate the Chinese New Year in America.
New York City
New York City has a thriving Chinatown in downtown Manhattan, and an even bigger unofficial Chinatown in Flushing, Queens.
There are major celebrations around the city, including a Sunday morning parade in Manhattan's Chinatown and a parade and festival in Flushing on Feb. 16th.
If parades aren't your thing, the China Institute of America is hosting a few events, including a children's celebration and a dumpling making workshop.
Meanwhile restaurants in Chinatown will be open for business — you can stop for dumplings at Joe's Shanghai or Nom Wah Tea Parlor — and several restaurants will be offering special menus for the Lunar New Year, such as Hakkasan, Buddakan, and Talde.
San Francisco
San Francisco's bustling Chinatown is one of the largest in the U.S. — and possibly anywhere outside of China.
In honor of the new year, there's a flower fair and street fair in Chinatown, along with a big parade on February 23rd, which features more than 100 floats, bands, and more. There's also a Miss Chinatown USA pageant, a Chinese New Year Treasure Hunt and a Chinese New Year 10k run.
Los Angeles
From a festival on glitzy Rodeo Drive to a flower fair in Monterey Park, Los Angeles hosts a bunch of events for the new year.
There's an elaborate scavenger hunt (The Great Chinatown Hunt), the Firecracker 10k, and family-friendly festivals at a few city museums. Even Disneyland has a big Lunar New Year celebration.
But the biggest celebration is the Golden Dragon Parade in L.A.'s Chinatown on February 16th.
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