Such was the scene at the Aberdeen Mall in Richmond foe the Chinese New Year countdown. Little hard to see, but that is part of the dragon dance performance. Tricky to get a good shot without elbowing the necks and heads of the people around me. Place was crowded, and as midnight drew near, more people crowded around the railings. In Chicago there is a parade in Chinatown, I’ve marched in it with the Shannon Rovers, and aside from acknowledgement of the holiday when I worked at Evergreen Marine, it passed without notice. Out here, totally different story. There are all kinds of events and parades to mark Chinese New Year, and it lasts for a week or two. That’s just the public stuff. I’ve since learned from my Asian friends that there are numerous family gatherings and that each day has a certain significance. Kids are encouraged to stay up past midnight for the countdown as the belief is they will bring longevity and prosperity to their parents. Red envelopes of money are placed beneath the children’s pillows at night as a thank you. The red envelopes also have significance for adult children who are not yet married. Red is a significant color, too. You can look it all up, which is a good idea as the rituals and meanings are so intricate I can’t remember them all. I thought Irish Catholics had rituals, which we do, but spread out over the year. Chinese New Year is ritual on a whole other scale crammed into a couple of weeks. There are cleaning and preparation rituals, countdown rituals, rituals for the first few days. Needless to say I was unprepared and got a crash course. Seriously though, look it up. Interesting stuff. So Aberdeen is a mall, and according to my Asian friends, last night is probably the most traffic it sees in a year. Stores were still open, there were numerous stands hocking wares of all kinds, one of which was some really good waffles. Jewelry, Chinese New Year items like lanterns, red envelops and other items composed of Chinese characters and snakes since it is the Year of the Snake. People crowded around the center where the stage was located. We squeezed in on the second floor, behind the stage and got to see the dragon dancers practice. The dragon dance is a really intricate dance. There’s an apparatus used, at least this time, that requires two people to balance on stools while performing the dance, which includes one jumping and standing on the thighs of the other, raising the dragon head, and also operating the dragon head. The mouth and eyes all move, and open and close. How on earth you learn to do that while keeping an eye on your footing and maintaining movement with the music, well, I’m curious. Rather impressive. The countdown itself was anticlimactic. Everyone counts down from 10, just like the New Year’s we all know, and there is cheering. But there is no drinking, toasting or what I figured every New Year’s celebration included. And then is was a mad dash to the parking lot to beat the crowd. The rituals hold more interest and significance than the actual countdown, which is opposite of regular New Year’s. Rather interesting to see a new year from a different culture and cultural perspective.