Lunar New Year has become a widely celebrated holiday throughout the world. Atlantic Station is proud to present our own interpretation of the holiday this year!
Visit our central expanded greenspace, Atlantic Green, to experience gorgeous Lunar New Year décor and traditions, from a magnificent red dragon to mesmerizing lantern shows each night.
Watch our beautifully designed, 90-foot-long dragon with over 25,000 lights—considered a symbol of good fortune in ancient Chinese mythology—pop out of a cloud of fog in the plaza near Atlantic Green and enjoy the nightly red lantern program at the top of each hour from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. There are nearly 500 lanterns strung high in the sky, another tradition that celebrates the reunions of loved ones to honor the Lunar New Year.
History
Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, is a celebration of the Chinese New Year according to the lunar calendar that dates back thousands of years. It begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar and ends after a full lunar phase, on the night of the full moon. This 15-day festival is a time dedicated to reuniting with family, honoring ancestors and manifesting luck and good fortune for the coming year with food, gifts and décor. It’s a time eat, celebrate and spend time with family.
Customs and Traditions
There are many symbols for good luck, fortune and well-being associated with Lunar New Year. To prepare for this important time of the year, people travel from all over the world to come home and be with their families. Streets are decorated with lanterns, dragons and the color red, as all three represent fortune, wisdom and prosperity.
Myths, Legends and Fables
While this holiday is a celebration of the new year, its origin and symbolism are rooted in legends passed down for centuries. According to legend, there once was a horrible monster who lived outside the village. At the beginning of each year, the monster would come into the village and terrorize the citizens and children. Until one day, an old priest told the villagers that this monster was afraid of the color red and loud noises. Before the monster returned, they set up firecrackers and dressed themselves and the village in red. When the monster came back, he was so frightened by the sights and sounds that he ran away and the villagers celebrated! From then on, the villagers welcomed the beginning of the new year by reuniting with family, decorating the town and celebrating the year to come.
From all of us here at Atlantic Station, we wish you luck and good fortune in the new year!