For followers of the Chinese zodiac, the Year of the Rat arrives on February 7. To usher in the Year 4076, many area Chinese restaurants will be hosting traditional celebrations during the next week or two, including the Lion Dance, an acrobatic, highly ritualized call-down for good fortune, complete with firecrackers, lettuces, and costumed dancers. (Click the video above for a taste of last year’s Asiatown Lion Dance) …
This article appears in Jan 23-30, 2008.