NYC to celebrate the Year of the Snake during the 2025 Lunar New Year Parade

While many will celebrate the New Year on December 31st, New Yorkers know that it’s really just the beginning of a month of parties. A few weeks later, starting on January 29, the city will be out again for the Lunar New Year, a holiday that originated in China and is celebrated in many countries with large Chinese diasporic populations, including Vietnam and Malaysia.

The holiday lasts about two weeks, and in New York it ends with a huge parade of lion dancers, drummers and other performers in Chinatown on February 16.

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This coming Lunar New Year is the year of the snake, which applies to those born in 1941, 1953, 1977, 1989, 2001 and 2013. In the Chinese zodiac, the snake represents wisdom and transformation, as animals tend to shed their skins. . That’s all to say: this year can be a good time to let go of the past and lean fully into your future self.

The Lunar New Year parade in 2025 starts at 1 p.m. at Mott and Canal Streets in Chatham Square and continues through East Broadway before ending next to Sara D. Roosevelt Park.

One of the best parts of the parade is watching the lion dancers perform in front of various small businesses in Chinatown, a tradition that seeks to bring them good luck in the coming year. According to ABC Newsover 25,000 people are expected to attend the celebration.

It’s never too early to plan, so be sure to keep an eye on our Lunar New Year hub as the date approaches.