Chinese New Year NYC: Parade and Dates

Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is one of China's most important holidays, and it's celebrated in New York too, a city that's home to one of the largest Asian communities in the world.

Here's everything you need to know to make the most of the Chinese New Year Festival in New York (you might also want to check out other things to do in New York in January or in February):

When is Chinese New Year celebrated in New York in 2025?

Chinese New Year shifts from year to year depending on the lunar calendar. The 2025 lunar year, the Year of the Snake, began on January 29, and the festivities run for two weeks, wrapping up with the famous Dancing Dragon Parade on February 16.

Firecracker Ceremony and Cultural Festival

When?: it was Wednesday, January 29, 2025, 11 am to 3:30 pm
Where?: Sara Roosevelt Park at Grand Street.

The start of the Chinese Lunar New Year festivities was marked by a firecracker ceremony where more than 500,000 fireworks and firecrackers were set off to scare away evil spirits and welcome the new year, this 2025, the Year of the Snake.

There were also traditional and contemporary Asian dances and songs, including the famous dragons that dance to ward off bad luck.

Chinese New Year Parade in Chinatown

When?: Sunday, February 16, 2025, 1 pm to 4:30 pm
Where?: the route starts on Canal Street heading to Mott Street, continues along East Broadway toward Sara Roosevelt Park via Forsyth and Eldridge Streets, ending at Broome Street.

The biggest celebration of all is the Chinese New Year Parade in Chinatown in Lower Manhattan (the Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade & Festival).

Don't miss this festival of dance and traditional Chinese music in one of the cities with the largest Asian population outside of Asia. Here are the details:

Before you go, it's worth checking the official event page to confirm everything is still on.

This is the traditional New Year parade with the famous Dragon Dance, those performances with dancers dressed as beautiful, long dragons made of silk, bamboo and paper. Add floats, acrobats, tons of color and traditional Chinese music.

This lunar new year festival is so popular that more than half a million people come out to watch. Along with New York's Chinese community, cultural groups and artists from Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia take part, plus plenty of Americans and Hispanics.

It's no longer just an Asian celebration, it's a major New York event. If you want a good view of the parade, get there early!

Chinese New Year Parade Route New York 2025

Lunar New Year in Queens

The largest concentration of New York's Asian community isn't in Manhattan but in Flushing, a neighborhood in Queens.

And they have their own Lunar New Year celebration too, with parades, dancers and dancing dragons, cultural performances and plenty of fireworks to scare off evil spirits.

But the best part is walking along Roosevelt Avenue from Main Street. You'll see every shop and storefront decked out in red and gold, run into plenty of people dressed in red handing out bills tucked into red envelopes (fake money, obviously), and spot folks eating mandarin oranges.

All that red, gold and orange is there because Chinese tradition says those colors attract good fortune.

And after your walk, duck into one of Flushing's Asian restaurants, where you'll find the most authentic Chinese food in all of New York.