firecrackerdude1

What's going on Monday? (Happy Lunar New Year)

Firecracker man

There will be celebrations across the city and around the world today as people mark the Year of the Ox. Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year. The holiday, also known as the Chinese New Year, is traditionally a time for gift giving and celebration. Each year is named after one of 12 animals. Festivities in the city include the annual firecracker ceremony and culture festival in Chinatown.

“For Chinatown, the Chinese New Year is always good because it’s the start of a new beginning,” said Better Chinatown Society President Nathan Conan. “Anything that’s bad should be gone and we welcome the new beginning. So it’s a good cultural festival to remind the Chinese who they are and where they came from.”

“The lion dance basically is when the lion comes in,” said Gregory Gong of the New York Freemason Athletic Club. “It’s supposed to get rid of all the evil spirits and everything like that and it’s supposed to bring good luck and good fortune to whoever it is.”

The holiday is celebrated by more than a billion people around the world. [NY1]

today in NYC
* DANCE
* Yacht in Tribeca
* Les Paul @ Iridium
* A Hawk and a Hacksaw in a store
* Whiplash @ UCB (Leo Allen hosts)
* Kiss Kiss, The Gay Blades & Plushgun @ Union Hall
* Andrew Bird & Christina Courtin @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Lady Sovereign is not playing Pianos tonight.

Cursive‘s tour video series continues. The one they made in NYC below…

What else?

Cursive – Tour video 6: New York, NY