The Chinese New Year celebration in San Francisco is one of the largest in the world. The main draw of this celebration, the Grand Parade, will be held on Saturday, February 23. In addition, you will find lots of fun events for the lunar new year in both February and March.
2019 is the Year of the Pig.
The San Francisco Chinese New Year celebration is the largest outside of Asia. The Chinese New Year celebration in San Francisco first began in the mid-1800s, when many immigrants from China came to the US looking for work.
As the word of the Gold Rush in California spread, many Chinese immigrants decided to stay in San Francisco. This built up a large Chinese community in this city, forming the famous Chinatown district that is still very much alive today.
When they planned their first full scale New Year's celebration here, they incorporated both Chinese and American traditions. They loved the idea of having a large, colorful parade, though that was not done in China at that time.
Today, this celebration and parade is one of the largest in the world. More than three million people watch the parade every year.
There are more than 100 parade entries. These include participants marching down the street with flags, lanterns, and drums.
The parade also includes several floats, the largest and most popular of which is the 28-foot-long Golden Dragon. It takes a team of more than 100 people to operate and move it through the streets of San Francisco. The lucky color red is everywhere at the new year. Chinese New Year is a lunar festival whose date is determined by the moon's phases and changes every year.
This 2019 Chinese New Year Parade is on Saturday, February 23. It starts at 5:15pm at the corner of 2nd and Market Streets. It then weaves its way through Chinatown and ends at Jackson and Kearny Streets. The parade usually ends around 8pm.