Family Day brings Chinese Lunar New Year to Washington

The Chinese Lunar New Year Family Day event held at the Kogod Courtyard of Smithsonian's American Art Museum in Washington on Saturday drew thousands of Americans, mostly parents with young children. [Photo by Chen Weihua/China Daily]

On Saturday, the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington was filled with Chinese music and shouts of joy of young children.

For the fourth year in a row, the museum's Kogod Courtyard was bustling with Chinese culture, with demonstrations of traditional paper-cutting, bristle dolls, dough sculpting, mask coloring, New Year's card making, Beijing folk artists' paintings and calligraphy, along with crowds making for a festive atmosphere.

Following the lion-awakening ceremony performed by David Skorton, secretary of the Smithsonian, and Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai, shows by the Yong Han Lion Dance Troupe from Johns Hopkins University, the Beijing Chinese Orchestra and Beijing Acrobats in turn served up an auditory and visual feast.

Among the audience was Ajay Bhatt and his family from Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Growing up in New York, Bhatt used to go to New York's Chinatown to watch the Chinese New Year's parades from a very young age.

"We always had to cover our ears because their fireworks were very, very loud. But it was a lot of fun," he said. "So, it's a lot of good memories celebrating the Chinese New Year."

Now he had brought along his 3-year-old son Gabriel, who just got his face painted, to the museum in Washington's Chinatown to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

"It's a great event for families. We are very happy that the Smithsonian is putting this on," Bhatt said. "It's very important for kids to participate in cultural events from around the world."

Shakirra Cook, 13, was particularly interested in Asian culture because "it's beautiful," she said, calling it thrilling to take part in the cultural activities and meet diverse groups of people.

"I love the languages that they speak, and I would like to learn them," she said. "I'm self-teaching myself Japanese, and I want to learn Chinese."

She was waiting in line to try on a traditional Chinese costume, in her case a pink embroidered dress, and have her picture taken.