Marking its tenth year, the highly-anticipated annual Lunar New Year celebration returns to kick-off the Year of the Pig, hosted by The Americana at Brand, this Sunday, January 27, 2019. The festivities will include an opening parade featuring the classic Dragon Dance, Lion Dance and traditional Chinese and Korean dances, along with a high-energy performance from UCLA’s award-winning K-pop dance team, Koreos. Additional activities include face painting, sugar painting and dough figurine making, and more.
In collaboration with KTOWN Night Market, the festivities will showcase Asian-inspired food and drink for purchase from specialty vendors including Belly Bombz, Cloud Food Creations, Momma Fung & Co, and more. Guests will also have the opportunity to receive lucky red envelopes from the God of Wealth that contain cash and prizes.
ABOUT THE YEAR OF THE PIG:
The Pig is the 12th animal of the 12-year cycle which appears in the Chinese zodiac calendar. Pigs are warm-hearted, loyal and gentle. People born in the Year of the Pig are known to be considerate, responsible and optimistic. They are generous to their peers and are quick to forgive others, leading to long and harmonious interpersonal relationships. In many Asian cultures, the Pig is also a sign of good fortune and wealth.
The Year of the Pig begins February 5, 2019 and will end on January 24, 2020.
Famous celebrities born in the Year of the Dog include: Steven Yeun, Sandra Oh, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hillary Clinton, Elon Musk, Ewan McGregor, Julie Andrews and Mark Wahlberg.
ABOUT THE LION DANCE:
Lion Dance is performed to frighten away evil spirits and bring luck and fortune in with the New Year. The lion will visit the houses and shops to perform the traditional custom of “cai ching” (採青), literally means “plucking the greens,” a quest by the lion to pluck the auspicious green, normally lettuce which in Chinese called ‘cai’ (菜) that sound like ‘cai’ (財) (fortune). The lion will dance and approach the “green,” eat the “green” and spit it out leave it in a nice arrangement, like an auspicious character.