Year of the Dog rings in New Year

Families and friends will gather in January and February to celebrate the arrival of the Chinese New Year. Traditionally a two-week celebration, the Chinese New Year will be celebrated in San Francisco during a variety of events over a three-week period.

The Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar, and the New Year's Day is celebrated on the first day of the first moon in the lunar calendar, which usually happens sometimes between the middle of January and the middle of February.

This year's events will mark the beginning of the year 4704, the Year of the Dog, in Chinese culture. People born in the Year of the Dog are said to be loyal and are able to keep secrets, but they worry a lot. Year of the Dogs are generally difficult years, meaning people will have to work harder in the new year to overcome obstacles.

The New Year is a time for family gatherings. Traditionally, families meet for a dinner on New Year's Eve and visit friends and relatives after New Year's Day celebrations.

Other traditions include a spring-cleaning to prepare for the next year and the purchase of spring couplets. Spring couplets are a common tradition in China and can be bought in many of Chinatown's shops during the celebrations. They consist of red paper with Chinese poems written in black ink. They are expected to bring good luck.

In San Francisco, a three-week festival in Chinatown culminates with a large Chinatown parade on Saturday, Feb. 11. There are also smaller events throughout the City.

The Chinatown festival includes a Flower Fair on Jan. 21 and 22, where visitors can buy flowers, fruit and candy, each which symbolizes different aspects of the New Year. The traditional New Year fruits - oranges and tangerines - symbolize happiness for the upcoming year, while flowers and plants symbolize growth. Candy is traditionally served to guests.

The festival will also include a street fair at the end of the celebrations during Feb. 11 and 12, when visitors can enjoy dance, music and arts.

But the main event of the festival is the Chinatown parade, which dates back to the 1860s and has been organized by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce since 1958. The parade features firecrackers, school marching bands, acrobatics, lion dances, costumes and more. Miss Chinatown USA, crowned during a ceremony at the Palace of Fine Arts in February, will also participate in the parade.

The Dragon Dance dates back to a traditional Lantern Festival, which takes place in China during the end of the New Year celebrations, where a dragon created of bamboo and paper is carried through the streets. The dragon in the Chinatown parade is so long that it takes about 100 people to carry it.

Upcoming events celebrating the Year of the Dog include:

Jan 21: Flower fair at Grant Avenue, between Clay Street and Broadway, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.;

Jan 22: Flower fair at Washington and Jackson streets, between Stockton and Kearny streets, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.;

Jan 27 to Feb 12: Chinese New Year's carnival on Walter U. Lum Place, between Washington and Clay streets, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.;

Feb 11: Community street fair, Grant Avenue between California Street and Broadway, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.;

Feb 11: Chinatown parade, Market and Kearny streets, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.