San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade explained
|
Status: | active |
Frequency: | Annually |
Location: | Chinatown, San Francisco, California, United States |
First: | (private events date to 1858) |
Founders: | --> |
Last: | – |
Next: | –(+) |
Sponsor: | Alaska Airlines |
The San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade is an annual event in San Francisco, California, United States. Held for approximately two weeks following the first day of the Chinese New Year, it combines elements of the Chinese Lantern Festival with a typical American parade. First held in 1851, along what are today Grant Avenue and Kearny Street, it is the oldest and one of the largest events of its kind outside of Asia, and one of the largest Asian cultural events in North America. The parade route begins on Market Street and terminates in Chinatown.[1] [2]
Highlights of the parade include floats, lion dancers, elementary school groups in costume, marching bands, stilt walkers, Chinese acrobats, and a Golden Dragon. Observers can expect to hear at least 600,000 firecrackers, and are advised to bring ear plugs.
The Golden Dragon is one of the highlights of the parade, considered the "Grand Finale" of the parade. It is made in Foshan, China and is 268 feet long, and takes a team of 100 men and women from the martial arts group Leung's White Crane Lion and Dragon Dance Association to carry it.[3]
The parade is hosted by the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce.[4] Corporate sponsors have included Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines. A similar street festival, the Autumn Moon Festival, has been held annually in Chinatown since 1991 to celebrate the Mid-Autumn or Moon Festival, approximately six months after the New Year festival and parade, and is hosted by the Chinatown Merchants Association of San Francisco.
History
Early celebrations
During the California Gold Rush, many Chinese immigrants came to San Francisco to work in gold mines and on railroads in search of wealth and a better life. The earliest recorded New Year's celebration was "a great feast" on February 1, 1851,[5] and the first dragon dance in San Francisco was held for the New Year in 1860.[6] In the 1860s, the Chinese community wanted to share their Chinese culture with others; they blended their traditions with a favorite American tradition—the parade—and held a parade with flags, banners, lanterns, drums and firecrackers.[7]
Harper's Weekly covered the 1871 celebration from a Caucasian perspective: "Our illustrations on page 260 will give the reader a vivid idea of the way in which the Chinese keep their New-Year's Day in San Francisco. Their year commences on the 18th of February, but the festivities continue for several days, to the great annoyance of the people, as the principal diversion is the constant explosion of fire-crackers and bombs."[8] The San Francisco Call noted the holiday in an 1892 article, writing that "no nation [celebrates] the New Year ... with greater rejoicing and feasting than the Chinese", adding that "[m]any white residents who at other times united in saying 'the Chinese must go' find it convenient to invade Chinatown during the holidays and freely partake of Celestial hospitality. Some go further than this and try to carry off everything that is not nailed down."[9]
Modern beginnings
San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade datesYear | Date | Ref. | | Year | Date | Ref. | | Year | Date | Ref. |
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Modern parades began in 1953 | 1960 | Feb 05 | [10] | 1970 | Feb 14 | [11] |
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1961 | Feb 26 | [12] | 1971 | Feb 06 | [13] |
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1962 | Feb 24 | [14] | 1972 | Feb 26 | [15] |
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1953 | Feb 15 | [16] | 1963 | Feb 09 | | 1973 | Feb 17 | [17] |
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1954 | Feb 05 | | 1964 | Feb 22 | | 1974 | Feb 09 | ? |
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1955 | Jan 30 | | 1965 | Feb 13 | | 1975 | Feb 22 | [18] |
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1956 | Feb 19 | | 1966 | Jan 29 | [19] | 1976 | Feb 14 | |
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1957 | Feb 02 | | 1967 | Feb 25 | | 1977 | Mar 05 | [20] |
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1958 | Feb 23 | | 1968 | Feb 10 | [21] | 1978 | Feb 18 | [22] |
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1959 | Feb 14 | | 1969 | Mar 01 | [23] | 1979 | Feb 10 | ? |
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|
Year | Date | Ref. | Year | Date | Ref. | Year | Date | Ref. |
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1980 | Mar 01 | [24] | 1990 | Feb 10 | [25] | 2000 | Feb 19 | [26] |
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1981 | Feb 21 | [27] | 1991 | Mar 02 | ? | 2001 | Feb 03 | [28] |
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1982 | Jan 30 | [29] | 1992 | Feb 15 | ? | 2002 | Feb 23 | [30] |
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1983 | Feb 26 | [31] | 1993 | Feb 06 | | 2003 | Feb 15 | [32] |
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1984 | Feb 18 | ? | 1994 | Feb 26 | ? | 2004 | Feb 07 | [33] |
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1985 | Mar 02 | [34] | 1995 | Feb 11 | ? | 2005 | Feb 19 | [35] |
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1986 | Feb 22 | ? | 1996 | Mar 02 | ? | 2006 | Feb 11 | [36] |
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1987 | Feb 07 | [37] | 1997 | Feb 22 | ? | 2007 | Mar 03 | [38] |
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1988 | Feb 27 | [39] | 1998 | Feb 14 | ? | 2008 | Feb 23 | [40] |
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1989 | Feb 18 | ? | 1999 | Feb 27 | [41] | 2009 | Feb 07 | [42] |
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|
Year | Date | Ref. | Year | Date | Ref. | Year | Date | Ref. |
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2010 | Feb 27 | [43] | 2020 | Feb 08 | [44] | < | --This eliminates years 2030-39. Copy this line to just above !2031 below and decrement the rowspan to 9 when 2030 dates are available.--> | 2030 | Feb 16 | --> |
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2011 | Feb 19 | [45] | 2021 | Cancelled | [46] | 2031 | Feb 08 | --> |
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2012 | Feb 11 | [47] | 2022 | Feb 19 | [48] | 2032 | Feb 21 | --> |
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2013 | Feb 23 | [49] | 2023 | Feb 04 | [50] | 2033 | Feb 04 | --> |
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2014 | Feb 15 | [51] | 2024 | Feb 24 | [52] | 2034 | Mar 04 | --> |
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2015 | Mar 07 | [53] | < | --This eliminates years 2025-29. Move this entire line (including colspan and rowspan) to just above 2025, remove comments from 2024, and decrement the rowspan to 4 when 2025 dates are available.--> | 2025 | Feb 08 | --> | 2035 | Feb 24 | --> |
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2016 | Feb 20 | [54] | 2026 | Feb 28 | --> | 2036 | Feb 09 | --> |
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2017 | Feb 11 | [55] | 2027 | Feb 20 | --> | 2037 | Feb 28 | --> |
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2018 | Feb 24 | [56] | 2028 | Feb 05 | --> | 2038 | Feb 20 | --> |
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2019 | Feb 23 | [57] | 2029 | Feb 24 | --> | 2039 | Feb 05 | --> | |
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In 1951, a week-long celebration included an anti-Communist parade with the theme "Torches of Liberty", staged by the
Chinese Six Companies and attended by a crowd of 10,000.
[58] Special police permission was granted to use firecrackers.
[59] The 1952 event was similarly colored by anti-Communist sentiments.
[60] During the Korean War, a group of Chinese-American leaders, led by H. K. Wong,
[61] expanded the parade into the San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival to take place on February 15, 1953,
[62] including art shows, street dances, martial arts, music, and a fashion show.
[62] Wong, frustrated by news coverage of gambling arrests in Chinatown, believed that educating Americans about the most significant Chinese holiday would turn around the bad press: "Many celebrants who come to Chinatown for this grand New Year never knew that Chinese New Year was celebrated privately prior to 1953. The introduction of the Chinese New Year Festival in 1953 eliminated that 'mystery Chinese' feeling of people outside of the Chinese Community."
[61] Wong organized a Chinese New Year Festival committee, whose members included restaurateur
Johnny Kan and businessman Paul Louie.
[62] The 1953 parade was led by Grand Marshall Joe Wong, a blind Korean war veteran, featuring the Miss Chinatown festival queen and of course the dragon; that year marked the first modern San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival[63] intended for the wider public. A crowd of 140,000 watched the parade.[64] The celebrations were expanded to three days in 1954.[62] In 1955, the Festival lasted for a week and concluded with a parade up Grant Avenue.[65] The celebrations were shortened to three days in 1956, and the parade was moved into the afternoon so it could be televised.[66] A new dragon the length of a city block, later stated as,[67] was imported from Hong Kong for the 1957 parade.[68] By 1958, the festival queen contest had been formally expanded into the pageant of Miss Chinatown USA. The festival resumed its week-long duration by 1963,[69] including a street carnival that was held since at least 1960.[70] [71] The carnival was criticized for having little cultural connection to Chinese New Year traditions, and the Wah Ching attempted to burn it in 1968; the gaming booths were discontinued for the 1969 Festival.[62]
Current celebration
The parade has since developed over the decades into one of the grandest nighttime illuminated parades in the US, and one of the largest celebrations of Asian culture outside of Asia,[72] although it has been criticized as presenting an inauthentic "stereotypic and fossilized" or "chop suey image" of Chinese culture.[73] The cost of tickets to the pageant and carnival meant that relatively impoverished Chinese American families could only afford to attend the crowded parade, in effect excluding those whose heritage the Festival was meant to celebrate.[62] The 1977 Parade included a wedding procession in an attempt to introduce more "authentic" cultural content; this was the brainchild of organizer David Lei, newly hired that year by the San Francisco Convention and Visitor's Bureau, which had become a co-sponsor in 1963.[62] [73]
In 1981, an estimated crowd of 250,000 watched the parade.[74] The idea of corporate sponsorship was first broached in 1987,[62] and parade units began to prominently display their sponsor's names.[62] Local television stations began to broadcast the parade in 1988; the next year, it was being carried in six markets across the United States, from Honolulu to New York, and by 1994, the Travel Channel had picked up the broadcast.[62] That year, the Gay Asian Pacific Alliance was the first gay rights group to participate in the parade; their presence was received with boisterous support.[62] By 1996, naming rights had been sold to the San Francisco Chronicle and the event was publicized as the "San Francisco Chronicle Chinese New Year Festival and Parade"; television coverage de-emphasized the event's connection with Chinatown altogether in favor of more typical San Francisco sights, such as its skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge.[62] As of 2017 it was considered the largest Asian event in North America, and the largest general market even in Northern California. It was also named as one of the world's top ten parades.[75]
For several decades, the parade was organized by Chinatown activist Rose Pak, who died in 2016. Pak was known for her outspoken comments about local politicians as they were passing by the central grandstand at Jackson and Kearny streets.[76] As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, Pak's quips "ranged from humorous to mean, but they were almost always pointed and pertinent to Chinatown's interests".
From 2004 on, Pak barred Falun Gong, a religious movement banned in China, from further participation[77] for violating parade rules by distributing leaflets.[78] The group and others, including San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly, subsequently criticized Pak for allegedly enforcing the will of the Chinese government.
Citing the COVID-19 pandemic, the parade scheduled for 2021 was canceled in November 2020; the floats and painted ox sculptures will be on static display for the public.[46] The parade returned on February 19, 2022.[48]
Festival events
The two-week Chinese New Year Festival and Parade, sponsored by Southwest Airlines in recent years, includes two fairs, the Chinese New Year Flower Fair and Chinatown Community Street Fair, the Miss Chinatown USA pageant, and concludes with the parade. Miss Chinatown USA is traditionally present at the parade, as is a Golden Dragon which is more than long and manned inside by over 100 puppeteers. The Golden Dragon and 600,000 firecrackers conclude the parade.[79] Over 100 groups participate in the parade, which is televised by KTVU and KTSF.
Other festival events include a Chinatown run and children's basketball games. Several San Francisco community groups such as the Chinatown YMCA, San Francisco Symphony, and Asian Art Museum hold festivities in Chinatown to celebrate the Chinese New Year as well.[80]
CCHP Chinatown YMCA Chinese New Year Run
Approximately 1,700 racers and 250 volunteers participate in the annual Chinese New Year 5K and 10K run and walk which is held by the Chinatown YMCA. The primary sponsor with naming rights is the Chinese Community Health Plan (CCHP). After the race, participants receive awards, goodies, a T-shirt, refreshments, and can engage in family activities and sponsor booths. An award is given for the best dressed, according to the year's Chinese zodiac. Proceeds support community and wellness programs for youth and teens such as Chinatown YMCA's Community Center and Physical Education Program.[81] [82] [83]
The route starts in the heart of Chinatown at Grant and Sacramento; the route continues through North Beach and returns via the Embarcadero. Runners in the 10K repeat the loop twice.[84]
Chinese New Year Flower Market Fair
The weekend before Chinese New Year Day, a Lunar New Year Fair takes place in San Francisco's Chinatown. Vendors line the streets and sell goods including traditional flowers, plants, fruits and candies which people give as gifts to family and friends or use for house decorations. Throughout the streets, there are traditional Chinese performances, such as magic shows, acrobatics, folk dancing, and opera.
Great happiness is symbolized with fruits such as tangerines and oranges. Tangerines with undamaged leaves symbolize secure relationships, and for newlyweds, symbolizes the beginning of a family with children.[85]
A Chinese candy box, called Tray of Togetherness or Harmony box, is a sectional tray which is used to serve bite-sized treats, such as candied melon, red melon seeds, candied coconut, and lotus seeds to wish guests a sweet new year.[86]
Many Chinese people think it is important to have flowers and plants decorating their homes for the Chinese New Year because they represent growth. Plants that bloom on the day of the Chinese New Year symbolize prosperity for the year.
Chinatown Community Street Fair
The two-day fair and its entertainment is planned by the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce and presents over 80 concessions and booths on the weekend that the Chinese New Year Parade is held. Entertainment includes folk dance, opera, drumming, family photos, giant puppets,[87] lion dances, fine arts demonstrations, calligraphy, lantern-making, and kite-making. About 500,000 people attend the Chinatown Community Street Fair.[88]
Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Pageant
The Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Pageant is an annual pageant taking place in San Francisco, where Chinese American women compete to become Miss Chinatown USA, a Chinese community goodwill ambassador, along with winning prizes and scholarships. Miss Chinatown U.S.A. will be crowned with her court at the Caesars Entertainment Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Coronation Ball, where a dinner and dance will be held.[89] The show includes quiz questions and competition in the areas of beauty, talent, and fashion. Other titles that are named in the pageant include Miss Chinese Chamber of Commerce/First Princess, Miss Talent, Miss San Francisco Chinatown, Second Princess, Third Princess, and Fourth Princess.[90]
Beginning in 1953, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce held the first local San Francisco Miss Chinatown Pageant together with the Chinese New Year Festival to select a festival queen; prior festival queens include Pat Kan (1953,[91] daughter of restaurateur Johnny Kan),[92] Bernice Woong (1954),[93] [94] Carolyn Lim (1955),[95] Estelle Dong (1956),[96] [97] and Ruby Kwong (1957).[98] [99] [100] Once the pageant became more popular, the contest opened up to women throughout the U.S.A. The first Miss Chinatown pageant was held on February 15, 1958, at the Great China Theater. Judges included Chin Yang Lee, Joseph Fields, Richard Pollard, Mrs. K. L. Kwong, Mrs. John Yu, and Sally Lee Thompson.[101]
Other community festival events
Asian Art Museum
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco holds special events to celebrate the Chinese New Year. They offer Family Fun Days which include activities such as storytelling, gallery activities, and art projects themed to the year's Chinese zodiac animal. Families can learn about Chinese symbols, flowers, and plants through activities. The museum provides educational guides for children so that they can learn about the Lunar New Year, zodiac animals, and win prizes after completing the guide.[102] During the museum's Lunar New Year Celebration event, museum-goers can watch schools come to perform Chinese dances and music, martial arts, a lion dance, and Chinese stories. People can create art projects, learn to walk on stilts, and learn a ribbon dance.[103]
California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences hosts a NightLife event for adults after regular operating hours on Thursdays;[104] since at least 2014,[105] one Thursday night during the Festival is themed for the Lunar New Year. A special lion dance performance by the Jing Mo Athletic Association took place on February 2, 2017.
Chinese Historical Society of America
Free admission to the Chinese Historical Society of America has been offered during the day of the annual parade.[106] [107] Dragon dancing, arts and crafts and other activities celebrating the traditions of the Chinese New Year were held.
Choy Sun Doe
Starting in 2019, gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins were passed out in traditional lai see (red envelopes) to children for the one-day Choy Sun Doe event, celebrating the arrival of the god of wealth. Some also included money or a gift certificate.[108] [109]
Presidio Officer's Club
Families participated in making a pellet drum, used for thousands of years as part of traditional celebrations, using simple materials.
San Francisco Symphony Chinese New Year Celebration
Each year, the San Francisco Symphony celebrates Chinese New Year with a concert at Davies Symphony Hall. Those who purchase tickets can attend a Festival Reception before the concert at Davies Symphony Hall. This reception includes entertainment such as crafts, arts, lion dancing, calligraphy, food, and tea bars. A Chinese Dragon Dance marks the beginning of the concert and the San Francisco Symphony presents music from Eastern and Western music traditions, and music from Asian composers. After the concert, those who purchased dinner packages can attend the Imperial Dinner held at the Zellerbach Rehearsal Hall on 300 Franklin Street. The Orchestra's musical education programs, from over 75,00 school in the Bay Area, receive the proceeds from the Festival Reception and Imperial Dinner.[110] [111]
SF Beer Week
SF Beer Week included a dim sum beer brunch on February 11, 2017.
SF Chinese Chamber of Commerce/Southwest Airlines Basketball Jamboree
Every year about sixty children, three teams of girls and three teams of boys, from San Francisco Middle Schools and Chinatown North Beach community play six basketball games to celebrate Chinese New Year.[112] [113]
Parade
The parade is the climactic event, held at the close of festivities.[114] Private celebrations of Chinese New Year began in 1851, and the first dragon was paraded in 1860.[115] Scenes from the 1961 parade were used in the film Flower Drum Song.[116] By 1974, a crowd estimated at 420,000 people watched the parade.[117]
The modern parades that started in 1953 initially were routed along Grant Avenue from Market through Chinatown,[118] [119] [120] although crowds were starting to overwhelm the narrow street by 1962. In 1965, the route was changed to bypass the narrow portion of Grant, detouring at Bush to Kearny.[121] Community leaders in Chinatown were displeased, but city officials forced the route change to avoid traffic jams and a potential fire hazard.[122] [123] [124] The route was updated again in 1981 to its present course,[62] which includes a loop around Union Square.[125] Despite the route changes, the start and finish have remained on Market and next to Portsmouth Square on Kearny, respectively, with the sole exception of 1965, when in addition to bypassing Grant, the start was also moved to Civic Center.[121]
Because the parade finishes shortly after passing under the Dr. Rolland and Kathryn Lowe Community Bridge between Portsmouth Square and the Chinese Culture Center, in recent years, admission to the bridge is restricted to ticketed guests for a viewing party during the night of the parade.[126]
Gum Lung
The dragon dance by the Golden Dragon, Gum Lung (or Gàm Luhng,), highlights the end of the parade. After the modern parades began in 1953, the first new Gum Lung was imported in 1957 from Hong Kong, billed as one city block or long.[67] [68] It was replaced in 1961 by a 125feet dragon,[127] [128] whose head weighed .[129] Another Gum Lung arrived in 1969, measuring long;[130] that year, a smaller 60feet dragon was imported by Macy's and the parade featured two dragons for the first time.[128] The 1961 dragon was made surplus and sold to Marysville, California, where it participated in that city's annual Bok Kai parade until 1984;[131] it replaced Moo Lung, Marysville's earlier dragon, which had been loaned to Chinese communities across the United States from Seattle to New York, including two appearances in San Francisco (1885 and 1937).[131]
A new Gum Lung, long,[132] was used for the 1976 celebration to usher in the Year of the Dragon.[133] In 2000, another new 201feet long dragon, made in Foshan and the longest to date, made its debut for the Year of the Dragon.[134] A smaller 61feet dragon was also purchased in 2000, but was stored for many years until it was donated to the Southern Oregon Chinese Cultural Association, where it debuted in Jacksonville, Oregon, on February 9, 2019.[135]
In 2015, the dragon, valued at $15,000, was long, had a head that weighs, and was kept in motion for three hours during the parade. Another new dragon was introduced for the 2018 parade, now stretching to long.[136]
Entrants
More than one hundred groups take part in the parade. The judges are located at the end of the parade, in the reviewing stands at Kearny and Columbus Avenue. There, the judges choose float and group participant winners.[137]
References
- Further reading
External links
Notes and References
- News: Nearly one million spectators expected for Chinese New Year parade. 18 February 2011. San Jose Mercury News. San Jose, California. 19 February 2011.
- Web site: Chinese New Year Parade and Celebration in San Francisco . Nelson. Lee. Internet Tours . Lee W. Nelson. 24 April 2016.
- Web site: 2017 Chinese New Year Parade with Cirque du Soleil. Ortiz. Michie. SF Funcheap. 16 May 2017.
- News: Chinese New Year Parade set for Saturday night in San Francisco. 10 February 2017. 16 May 2017. KGO-TV.
- Web site: CHINESE NEW YEARS . cdnc.ucr.edu . Daily Alta California, Volume 2, Number 55, 3 February 1851 . 23 December 2023 . CHINESE NEW YEARS — Norman Assing, the well known chief of the China boys, gave a grand feast on Saturday night [1 February 1851], at his private house, in celebration of the birth of the Chinese new year. A number of the policemen of our city, and many ladies and "China boys," were present on the occasion..
- News: Chinese Celebration Begins Feb. 7 . January 25, 1970 . El Paso Times . subscription . 26 April 2020 . A dragon first appeared in the streets of San Francisco during the 1860 celebration heralding the Year of the Monkey, 4558. .
- Web site: History of the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade. Chinese New Year Festival & Parade. 9 April 2016.
- News: The Chinaman's New Year . March 25, 1871 . Harper's Weekly . 10 April 2022.
- News: Kong Hee Fah Choy . January 29, 1892 . San Francisco Call . 25 April 2020.
- News: San Francisco's Chinatown Plans Exotic Celebration . January 14, 1960 . San Bernardino Sun . 24 April 2020.
- News: There Will Be A Doggone Good Time In Chinatown . January 25, 1970 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 25 April 2020.
- News: Chinese Fete to Begin Feb.24 . December 23, 1960 . Geyserville Press . 24 April 2020.
- News: San Francisco Won't Be boring In 1972 . December 20, 1970 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 25 April 2020.
- News: 'Gung Hay Fat Choy' as Gov. Brown, Nixon Join in S.F. Chinatown Parade . February 25, 1962 . San Bernardino Sun . 24 April 2020.
- Web site: 1972 Chinese New Year's Parade . Bolerium Books . 26 April 2020.
- 40068199 . Yeh . Chiou-Ling . 'In the Traditions of China and in the Freedom of America': The Making of San Francisco's Chinese New Year Festivals . June 2004 . 56 . 2 . 395–420 . American Quarterly. 10.1353/aq.2004.0029 . 144084781 .
- News: San Francisco Chinese New Year . February 8, 1973 . Vestkusten . 25 April 2020.
- News: Gung Hay Fat Choy . February 13, 1975 . Vestkusten . 25 April 2020.
- News: Chinese Celebrating 'Year Of The Horse' . UPI . January 21, 1966 . Madera Tribune . 24 April 2020.
- News: Chinese New Year—Serpent Supersedes Dragon . January 4, 1977 . Desert Sun . 25 April 2020.
- News: Candle dance wins Miss Chinatown U.S.A. title for SCC co-ed Betty Wong . February 9, 1968 . The Express . 24 April 2020.
- News: Year of the Horse: Chinese New Year Begins . February 7, 1978 . Desert Sun . 25 April 2020.
- News: Gung Hay Fat Choy . February 20, 1969 . Vestkusten . 24 April 2020.
- News: Wishing you Gung Hay Fat Choy . Howie, Mildred . February 6, 1980 . Healdsburg Tribune, Enterprise and Scimitar . 25 April 2020.
- News: Parade: Horsin' Around . February 8, 1990 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 25 April 2020.
- Web site: Information . 2000 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20000306200708/http://chineseparade.com/info.htm . 6 March 2000 . dead.
- News: Death threats mar celebration in Chinatown . AP . February 23, 1981 . San Bernardino Sun . 25 April 2020.
- Web site: Information . 2001 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20010405091312/http://www.chineseparade.com:80/info.htm . 5 April 2001 . dead.
- News: 1982 The Year Of Dog . November 1, 1981 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 25 April 2020.
- Web site: Information . 2002 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20020405220935/http://www.chineseparade.com:80/info.htm . 5 April 2002 . dead.
- News: Chinese hail 'Year of Pig' . AP . February 14, 1983 . Desert Sun . 25 April 2020.
- Web site: Information . 2003 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20030602043956/http://www.chineseparade.com:80/info.htm . 2 June 2003 . dead.
- Web site: Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade . 2004 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20040403205714/http://chineseparade.com/parade/about/about.asp . 3 April 2004 . dead.
- News: Around the state . February 17, 1985 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 25 April 2020.
- Web site: Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade . 2005 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20050413073921/http://www.chineseparade.com:80/parade/about/about.asp . 13 April 2005 . dead.
- Web site: Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade . 2006 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20060418053522/http://www.chineseparade.com:80/parade/about/about.asp . 18 April 2006 . dead.
- News: A hare-raisin' celebration . McDonald, Betty Vogel . Gannett News Service . February 1, 1987 . San Bernardino Sun . 25 April 2020.
- Web site: Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year Parade . 2007 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20070608041812/http://www.chineseparade.com:80/parade/about/about.asp . 8 June 2007 . dead.
- News: Snapshots: It's Chinese New Year! . February 14, 1988 . San Bernardino Sun . 25 April 2020.
- Web site: Calendar . 2008 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20080107091228/http://chineseparade.com/calendar.asp . 7 January 2008 . dead.
- Web site: Information . 1999 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/19991008012151/http://www.chineseparade.com/info.htm . 8 October 1999 . dead.
- Web site: Calendar . 2009 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20090124230758/http://chineseparade.com:80/calendar.asp . 24 January 2009 . dead.
- Web site: Calendar . 2010 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20100304140344/http://www.chineseparade.com:80/calendar.asp . 4 March 2010 . dead.
- Southwest Airlines® Chinese New Year Festival and Parade is celebrating the Year of the Rat (Lunar Year 4718), in San Francisco, from January 18 thru March 1, 2020 . January 2020 . Chinese Chamber of Commerce . https://web.archive.org/web/20200208232315/https://chineseparade.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2020-CNY-Parade-Year-of-the-Rat-Press-Release_rev2.pdf . 8 February 2020 . live.
- Web site: Calendar . 2011 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20110314191044/http://www.chineseparade.com/calendar.asp . 14 March 2011 . dead.
- News: San Francisco's world-renowned Chinese New Year Parade canceled for 2021 . Bartlett, Amanda . November 1, 2020 . SF Gate . 3 November 2020.
- Web site: Calendar . 2012 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20120120171329/http://www.chineseparade.com/calendar.asp . 20 January 2012 . dead.
- San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade comes roaring back to celebrate the Year of the Tiger with a live parade and announces Alaska Airlines as our new title sponsor . September 29, 2021 . San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival & Parade . 11 November 2021.
- Web site: Calendar . 2011 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20130125113752/http://www.chineseparade.com:80/calendar.asp . 25 January 2013 . dead.
- Leap into the Year of the Rabbit . January 2, 2022 . San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival & Parade . 11 January 2023.
- Web site: Calendar . 2014 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20140209031315/http://www.chineseparade.com/calendar.asp . 9 February 2014 . dead.
- Save the dates for the Year of the dragon, Parade now accepting applications and a call for Zodiac on Parade artists . September 27, 2023 . Chinese New Year Festival & Parade . 26 December 2023.
- Web site: Calendar . 2015 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20150215124538/http://www.chineseparade.com:80/calendar.asp . 15 February 2015 . dead.
- Web site: Calendar . 2016 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20160215194625/http://www.chineseparade.com:80/calendar.asp . 15 February 2016 . dead.
- Web site: Calendar . 2017 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20170302181548/http://chineseparade.com/calendar.asp . 2 March 2017 . dead.
- Web site: Calendar . 2018 . ChineseParade.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20180327083049/http://www.chineseparade.com:80/calendar.asp . 27 March 2018 . dead.
- Southwest Airlines® Chinese New Year Festival and Parade is celebrating the Year of the Pig (Lunar Year 4717), in San Francisco, from February 2 thru March 3, 2019 . January 2019 . Chinese Chamber of Commerce . https://web.archive.org/web/20200425175212/https://chineseparade.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-CNY-Parade-Year-of-the-Pig-Press-Release.pdf . 25 April 2020 . live.
- News: Chinatown Observes New Year with Anti-Communist Parade . February 13, 1951 . U.P. . Madera Tribune . 23 April 2020.
- News: Chinese New Year to have Big Bang . U.P. . January 30, 1951 . Madera Tribune . 23 April 2020.
- News: Colorful Fetes Mark New Year for SF Chinese . U.P. . January 28, 1952 . Madera Tribune . 23 April 2020.
- Book: Nee . Victor G . Nee . Brett de Bary . Longtime Californ': a documentary study of an American Chinatown . 1973 . Pantheon Books . New York City . 0804153914 . 244–249 . W.K. Wong: 'Yes, it was my idea to initiate a public celebration of the Chinese New Year in San Francisco back in 1953.'... . registration .
- Book: Yeh . Chiou-ling . Making an American festival: Chinese New Year in San Francisco's Chinatown . 2008 . University of California Press . Berkeley . 978-0-520-25350-6. alternate URL at Internet Archive
- News: Big Celebration: San Francisco's Chinatown Getting Ready for New Year . AP . Cline, Alan . February 8, 1959 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 23 April 2020 . This new year is No. 4657—the Year of the Board . But it's only No. 7 in Chinatown's wild, public celebration..
- News: In 1953 'outsiders' were invited to SF Chinese New Year Parade - 140,000 showed up . Bragman, Bob . February 10, 2017 . San Francisco Chronicle . 26 April 2020.
- News: We'll Follow Along . January 24, 1955 . Shin Nichibei . 23 April 2020.
- News: SF's Chinese New Year to Be on TV . February 17, 1956 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 23 April 2020.
- News: Year of the Dog Opens February 21 . January 25, 1958 . Sausalito News . 23 April 2020.
- News: Year of the Rooster Will Be Honored . January 26, 1957 . Sausalito News . 23 April 2020.
- News: Chinatown Spectacle Planned . February 19, 1964 . Sausalito News . 24 April 2020.
- News: Annual Chinese Celebration . January 6, 1965 . Sausalito News . 24 April 2020.
- News: San Francisco's Chinatown Sets New Year Fete . January 28, 1960 . Mill Valley Record . 24 April 2020.
- Web site: Hu. Cindy. CHINESE NEW YEAR 2017 PARADE & EVENTS. San Francisco Travel Association. 16 May 2017.
- News: New Year's Celebration Criticized By Chinese . AP . February 18, 1977 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 25 April 2020.
- News: Golden Dragon Parade . February 23, 1981 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 25 April 2020.
- Web site: Chinese New Year Parade . SanFranciscoChinatown.com . 16 May 2017.
- Web site: Rose Pak's absence to alter tone of Chinese New Year's Parade - SFChronicle.com. Green. Emily. 2017-02-11. www.sfchronicle.com. en-US. 2019-01-10.
- News: Chinatown's Champion. Wildermuth. John. September 19, 2010. SFGate.com. May 28, 2017. Hearst Newspapers.
- News: Battle Continues Over Proposed Chinatown Subway Station Name . Mojadad, Ida . June 4, 2019 . SF Weekly . 25 April 2020.
- Web site: Chinese New Year Parade. Chinatown San Francisco. 23 April 2016.
- Web site: Chinese New Year Festival and Parade Home. Chinese New Year Festival and Parade. 23 April 2016.
- Web site: CCHP Chinatown YMCA Chinese New Year Run. YMCA of San Francisco. 10 April 2016.
- Web site: YMCA Chinese New Year Run 5k/10k Run/Walk. Chinatown San Francisco. 10 April 2016.
- Web site: CCHP/Chinatown Chinese New Year Run 10/K/5K/RUN/WALK. Chinese New Year Festival & Parade. 10 April 2016.
- Web site: Chinese New Year 5k & 10k Run . March 1, 2020 . San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency . 21 April 2020.
- Web site: Flower Market Fair. Chinese New Year Festival & Parade. 9 April 2016.
- Web site: HOW TO MAKE A TRAY OF TOGETHERNESS. Radez. Wes. 25 February 2016. Chinese Holidays 101. Red Bean Company LLC. 9 April 2016.
- Web site: CHINATOWN COMMUNITY STREET FAIR. Chinese New Year Festival & Parade. 9 April 2016.
- Web site: Chinatown Community Street Fair. Chinatown San Francisco. 9 April 2016.
- Web site: ORIGIN OF THE MISS CHINATOWN USA PAGEANT. Chinese New Year Festival & Parade. 9 April 2016.
- Web site: Miss Chinatown U.S.A. Pageant. Chinese New Year Festival & Parade. 9 April 2016.
- Book: https://books.google.com/books?id=ujTfCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA216 . Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide . San Francisco Chinese New Year . Crump, William D. . 2008 . 215216 . McFarland & Company, Inc. . Jefferson, North Carolina . 978-0-7864-3393-3.
- Web site: Miss Chinatown: Origins . ChineseParade.com . 26 April 2020.
- Web site: Chinese New Year Festival Souvenir Program . Ming Sing Printing & Lithographing . 1954.
- Book: Locke and the Sacramento Delta Chinatowns . Tom, Lawrence . Tom, Brian . Chinese American Museum of Northern California . 2013 . Arcadia Press . Charleston, South Carolina . 113 . 26 April 2020 . 978-0-7385-9670-9.
- News: Chinese Begin Celebration of the New Year . AP . January 24, 1955 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 23 April 2020.
- News: Chinatown Queen . February 11, 1956 . Shin Nichibei . 23 April 2020.
- News: Chinese Word for It . January 12, 1957 . Shin Nichibei . 23 April 2020.
- News: Ruby Kwong is Chinatown Queen . AP . January 28, 1957 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 23 April 2020.
- News: SF Chinatown Welcomes 'Year of the Rooster' . AP . January 30, 1957 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 23 April 2020.
- News: Miss Chinatown . January 30, 1957 . Shin Nichibei . 23 April 2020.
- News: Dozen Chinese Beauties Seek Queen Title . AP . February 5, 1958 . San Bernardino Sun . 23 April 2020.
- Web site: Come Monkey around with us this Lunar New Year!. Asian Art Museum. 9 April 2016.
- Web site: Lunar New Year 2015. Asian Art Museum. 9 April 2016.
- Web site: NightLife . California Academy of Sciences . 22 April 2020.
- Web site: Lunar New Year Nightlife at CalAcademy . February 2014 . Chinese Historical Society of America . 22 April 2020.
- Web site: Celebrate the Year of the Dragon on Lunar New Year Parade Day! . 2012 . Chinese Historical Society of America . 22 April 2020.
- Web site: Year of the Pig: Chinese New Year's Celebration at CHSA . 2019 . Chinese Historical Society of America . 22 April 2020.
- Web site: Choy Sun Doe . Chinese New Year Festival & Parade . 22 April 2020.
- Choy Sun Doe Day . February 2019 . San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce . 22 April 2020.
- Web site: San Francisco Symphony Chinese New Year Celebration. Chinese New Year Festival & Parade. 9 April 2016.
- Web site: San Francisco Symphony Chinese New Year Concert. Chinatown San Francisco. 9 April 2016.
- Web site: SF Chinese Chamber of Commerce/Southwest Airlines® Basketball Jamboree. Chinese New Year Festival & Parade. 10 April 2016.
- Web site: Chinese New Year Jamboree. San Francisco Recreation & Parks. 10 April 2016.
- News: Chinese New Year Hits Climax In S.F. Saturday . February 9, 1970 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 24 April 2020 . The celebrations will climax Saturday in a three-hour parade featuring a glittering 60-foot-long golden dragon. ... Celebrations began last Saturday with day-long lion dance ceremonies accompanied by explosions of thousands of firecrackers..
- News: San Francisco Chinese New Year . February 8, 1973 . Vestkusten . 24 April 2020.
- News: Gung Hay Fat Choy ... happy year of the ox to you . March 2, 1961 . Oak Leak . 24 April 2020.
- News: Off the Wire: Record Crowd for Dragon . February 4, 1974 . California Aggie . 24 April 2020.
- News: A New Candidate for Miss Chinatown, U.S.A. . January 14, 1963 . subscription . San Francisco Examiner.
- News: Now is the time to celebrate New Year's Eve in San Francisco! (advertisement) . January 28, 1963 . Madera Tribune . 24 April 2020 . Grand Parade ... starts on lower Market St., turns right on Grant to Jackson, past reviewing stand on Kearny..
- News: February in San Francisco (advertisement) . January 31, 1964 . Madera Tribune . 24 April 2020 . ... the parade will travel up Market to Grant Avenue, along Grant through Chinatown, east on Pacific to Kearny, south along Kearny passing the reviewing stand at the old Hall of Justice and disbanding at Clay Street..
- News: February in San Francisco (advertisement) . January 27, 1965 . Madera Tribune . 23 April 2020 . starting at Civic Center at 7 PM, it proceeds along Fulton Street to Market, down Market to Grant, up Grant to Bush, then east on Bush to Kearny..
- News: February in San Francisco (advertisement) . January 27, 1967 . Madera Tribune . 24 April 2020 . starting at First & Market at 7 PM, the parade proceeds along Market to Grant, north on Grant to Bush, east on Bush to Kearny, then north on Kearny past the reviewing stand at Washington..
- News: Parade Route Ires Leaders Of Chinatown . AP . January 27, 1966 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 24 April 2020.
- News: February in San Francisco (advertisement) . December 28, 1965 . Madera Tribune . 24 April 2020 . starting at First & Market at 7 PM, the parade proceeds along Market to Grant, north on Grant to Bush, east on Bush to Kearny, then north on Kearny past the reviewing stand at Washington..
- Web site: FAQ . Southwest Chinese New Year Festival & Parade.
- News: Lunar New Year Parade VIP Viewing Party . January 15, 2019 . NBC Bay Area . 22 April 2020.
- News: Colorful, Crowded Chinese New Year's Celebration Under Way In San Francisco . Raiser, M.A. . February 1, 1963 . AP . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 24 April 2020.
- News: There's Only One Gum Lung . February 4, 1973 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 24 April 2020.
- News: Walk like a cat and live like a king . Thompson, Nelda . February 18, 1968 . Highland Park News-Herald . 24 April 2020.
- News: The Cock Will Crow In 1969 . January 12, 1969 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . 24 April 2020.
- Book: Gold Country's Last Chinatown: Marysville, California . Tom, Lawrence . Tom, Brian . The History Press . Charleston, South Carolina . 2020 . 78 . 27 April 2020 . 9781467143233.
- News: San Francisco's Chinatown Is An Extraordinary Corner . Morgan, Neil . January 9, 1977 . Santa Cruz Sentinel . Copley News Service . 24 April 2020.
- News: Chinese Celebration—'Fai Lok Loong Nien!'—Means 'Happy Year' . December 19, 1975 . Desert Sun . 24 April 2020.
- News: Dragon awakes in time for Chinese New Year . Brazil, Eric . January 30, 2000 . San Francisco Examiner . 27 April 2020.
- News: Lions and dragons take to the streets for Chinese New Year . Van Zile, Judy . February 7, 2019 . Mail Tribune . 26 April 2020.
- News: Firecrackers and a brand-new dragon mark SF Chinese New Year parade . Fracassa, Dominic . February 24, 2018 . San Francisco Chronicle . 27 April 2020.
- Web site: Hundreds of Thousands Expected to Attend Chinese New Year Parade, Festival in San Francisco. Bay City News. NBC Bay Area. 16 February 2014 . NBCUniversal Media. 23 April 2016.
- Web site: Accomplishments . Yau Kung Moon . 23 April 2020.
- Web site: San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade. The International School of the Peninsula. 23 April 2016.
- Web site: The Academy & Chinese New Year 2017. academyart.edu. Academy of Art University. 11 May 2017.
- News: Fireworks, dragons usher in Chinese New Year Parade in SF . Zimmerman, Douglas . February 8, 2020 . San Francisco Chronicle . 22 April 2020.
- News: Chinese New Year: Watch Gum Long rule streets of S.F. . March 1, 2015 . San Francisco Examiner . 22 April 2020.