6 ways to eat, craft and dance your way through Lunar New Year

Lunar New Year started Feb. 17, marking the first day of the lunisolar calendar and the Year of the Horse. The celebration has origins in ancient China and is now celebrated by millions across Asia and the world. China rings in the new year with the Spring Festival, Vietnam with Tet, and Korea with Seollal.

Lunar New Year became an official Boston holiday in 2023. Greater Boston is home to a number of Asian communities, including many Chinese and Vietnamese residents. Districts like Lexington and Acton-Boxborough close schools on Lunar New Year, though this year the holiday falls on February vacation week.

Here are six ways to celebrate Lunar New Year with friends, family and neighbors throughout Boston, featuring traditional foods, crafts and the annual Chinese New Year parade.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston will ring in the Lunar New Year with a lineup of 19 family-friendly art activities, talks and performances. Visitors can view the museum’s Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese collections. Events include a live reading of “The Magic of Tet” with bilingual children’s author Windy Pham, an introduction to Seollal from the Korean Cultural Society of Boston and lion dances from two local dance troupes. Admission is pay-what-you-wish, with a minimum of $5.

Bow Market’s Lunar New Year Night Market features an Asian American and Pacific Islander Maker Market with 11 local vendors and two lion dance performances from NüWa. Restaurants will provide food and drink specials, including pandan mochi from Viet Citron, a Fire Horse cocktail from Remnant Brewery, and a spicy Taiwanese sandwich from Saus. The event is free.

The Peabody Essex Museum welcomes the Year of the Horse with interactive activities among its collections. Visitors can participate in a museum-wide scavenger hunt to find all 12 animals of the zodiac, and take self-guided tours of the Yin Yu Tang, a late 18th-century Chinese house that was brought to the museum from rural Southeastern China. Other activities include red envelope decorating and a lion dance performance followed by a meet-and-greet with the dancers. Tickets start at $10.

Now in its 38th year, the Quincy Lunar New Year Festival is an annual community festival filled with food and dance. The festival starts with a lion dance performance at 12 p.m., followed by cultural performances, arts and crafts, and food from local vendors. Quincy is home to one of the state’s largest Asian communities. The event is free and takes place at North Quincy High School.

At the Harvard Art Museums Material Lab, multimedia artist Zhonghe (Elena) Li will lead a workshop on the art of Chinese paper cutting. Participants will cut unique horse-themed designs and learn how to assemble a paper lantern of their own. Add light and these paper designs transform into glowing pieces of art. Tickets are $15 and advance registration is required.

The annual Chinatown Lunar New Year Lion Dance parade kicks off in Phillips Square at 10:30 a.m. and finishes at 3 p.m. Lion dancers will process through the Chinatown streets, closed to cars for the event. The parade’s rhythmic drums and loud firecrackers can be heard throughout the neighborhood and draw crowds every year. The same day, the Pao Arts Center in Chinatown will host Lunar New Year art activities and workshops.