Gung hay fat choy! In 2025, millions of people around the world will welcome the start of another Lunar New Year, which begins on January 29th. On the Chinese Zodiac calendar, 2025 is the Year of the Snake, with the sign representing charm, creativity, intelligence, and cunning.

The Lunar New Year also marks the beginning of spring across East Asia, with households engaging in thorough cleanings to clear out bad luck and invite good fortune. Other Lunar New Year traditions include reunion dinners, gifts of money in red envelopes, and parades and festivals to celebrate the changing of the year.

Here in New York, there will be plenty of Lunar New Year parties and cultural events, featuring lion dancers, arts and crafts, and plenty of delicious food. Here’s our roundup of the best Lunar New Year events you can find across the five boroughs. 

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Clementine oranges in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Warm Temperate Pavilion (Michael Stewart/Brooklyn Botanic Garden)
  • Get to know more about the plants connected to Lunar New Year at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Lunar New Year Plants Talk and Walk. Guide Sabrina Lee will take guests through the Steinhardt Conservatory and introduce you to plants that play a part in the annual new year celebrations, followed by a self-guided tour of the garden’s Asian plants. This tour will be held on Friday, January 24 at 1:00 pm and on Saturday, January 25 at 11:00 am and is free with admission.

  • In the Bronx, families can learn more about the role of the snake in the Chinese Zodiac and make some holiday art at Family Art Project: Fan of Lunar New Year at Wave Hill. Kids will have the opportunity to design and build their own paper fans inspired by local snakes, followed by a Lunar New Year-themed storytime. This event will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday, Jan 25 and on Sunday, January 26 and is free with admission.

  • Head to Jamaica for a free Lunar New Year celebration and educational event hosted by the King Manor Museum in Rufus King Park. Guests will get to make art, with free snacks provided. This event will take place from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm on Saturday, January 25 and is free to attend.

  • On Staten Island, Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanic Garden will host a Chinese New Year Celebration featuring arts and crafts, performances, food, and hand puppet shows. Festivities begin at 11:30 am on Saturday, January 25; tickets are $20 per person.

  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art welcomes the new year with its annual Lunar New Year Festival, featuring performances, interactive activities and artist-led workshops, on Saturday, January 25 beginning at 12:00 pm. This event is free with museum admission.

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The Asia Society's Lunar New Year family day celebration (Ellen Wallop/Asia Society)
  • Join Asia Society for their Moon Over Manhattan Lunar New Year Family Festival, featuring lion dancers, martial arts demonstrations, snake-themed arts and crafts, and Lunar New Year musical performances. The festival will take place on Saturday, January 25 starting at 1:00 pm; tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children over 2.

  • The Museum of Chinese in America is holding two events for visitors to help decorate the building for Lunar New Year with their Museum Makeovers. Join teaching artist Yu Rong and special guest ALT Alliance on Saturday, January 25 starting at 2:00 pm to create paper-chain snakes using their special edition craft kits, or on Wednesday, January 29 beginning at 1:00 pm. Both events are free to attend.

  • The Brooklyn Museum will dedicate a Sunday Art Hang to Lunar New Year on January 26, with arts and crafts and a lion dance performance by the Chinese Freemasons Athletic Club, in collaboration with Cool Culture. The event will begin at 2 pm and is free to attend.

  • Head to Kissena Corridor Park in Flushing on Sunday, January 26 at 1:00 pm for a Lunar New Year Campfire at Silent Springs Playground, held by the Department of Parks’ Urban Park Rangers. There will also be a crafts table to make snake-themed art while staying warm and toasty. This event is free to attend.

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Chinatown Community Young Lions performing in Grand Central Terminal in honor of Lunar New Year in 2024 (Marc A. Hermann / MTA)
  • The New York City Council will host a Lunar New Year Celebration at City Hall in Manhattan on Monday, January 27, starting at 5:30 pm. Event details are still TBA.

  • The official start of Lunar New Year is on Wednesday, January 29, and you can take part in the traditional welcome ceremony at Sara D. Roosevelt Park in the Lower East Side by setting off fireworks to scare away bad spirits. The festivities begin at 11:00 am and are free to attend. 

  • Pearl River Mart in Soho will ring in the new year on Wednesday, January 29 with a lion dance performance by the Wan Chi Ming Dragon and Lion Dance team. The celebration will also include a free tasting of Japanese tea from Senbird. This event starts at 4:30 pm and is free to attend.  

  • The Brooklyn Children’s Museum will hold a special Lunar New Year storytime on Thursday, January 30 and a Lunar New Year celebration on Saturday, February 1, featuring arts and crafts and a special appearance from author Michele Wong McSween on Thursday and from authors Yobe Qiu and Ran Wei on Saturday. The Saturday event will include live music, dance and martial arts performances by the New York Chinese Cultural Center, calligraphy workshops, snake-themed programs from Nature’s Engineers, and a lion dance performance by the Chinatown Community Young Lions. The Thursday event will begin at 3:00 pm, and the Saturday event will begin at 10:00 am; both are free to attend with museum admission.

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A calligraphy workshop during the South Street Seaport Museum's Lunar New Year celebration (Mike Szpot/The Seaport)
  • The South Street Seaport will mark the start of Lunar New Year with calligraphy workshops, LNY-themed arts and crafts, and lion dance performances in collaboration with the New York Chinese Cultural Center on Saturday, February 1. At the Seaport Museum, kids can sign up for free calligraphy lessons at 2 pm, 3 pm and 4 pm, or they can make nautical Chinese lion paper chains between 11:00 am and 4:30 pm. All events are free to attend, with registration required for the calligraphy workshops.  

  • Head to Downtown Brooklyn for the neighborhood’s annual Lunar New Year Celebration on Saturday, February 1, with live music and lion dance performances at City Point, Albee Square and DeKalb Market Square. This event will begin at 1:00 pm and is free to attend.

  • You’ll have two chances to attend the Lunar New Year Family Festival at the Museum of Chinese in America on Saturday, February 1, with a morning session starting at 10:00 am, followed by an afternoon session that begins at 2 pm. The full event schedule is TBA; tickets are $7.18 for adults and kids, with free admission for children under 2.

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Dancers performing at Bryant Park's Lunar New Year celebration (Angelito Jusay/Bryant Park)
  • Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan will host a Lunar New Year Celebration on Sunday, February 2, featuring live music and dance from the New York Chinese Cultural Center, Year of the Snake arts and crafts, a ribbon dancing class, and a lion dance performance complete with a meet-and-greet with the performers beforehand. The festivities begin at 10:00 am and are free to attend.

  • In the Financial District, the China Institute in America will host a massive Lunar New Year Celebration on Sunday, February 2, featuring a pop-up immersion showcase of Prince Kung’s Palace Museum in Beijing, as well as lion dances, live music, and several artisan craft workshops, including shadow puppet making, opera mask painting, New Year woodblock printing, and much more. The party begins at 2:00 pm; tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for kids 12 and under. 

  • Flushing Town Hall and Glow Cultural Center have teamed up once again for their fourth annual Lunar New Year Celebration, taking place on Sunday, February 2. The highlight of the event will be a parade down Main Street in Flushing, but attendees can also take in a Peking opera performance, lion dances and face-changing acts, and a cultural fair with booths featuring Chinese calligraphy, sugar painting, and more. The parade will begin at 11:30 am, with the fair opening at 12:00 pm; registrations are required. 

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The Queens Botanical Garden's Lunar New Year celebration (Eryn Hatzithoma/Queens Botanical Garden)
  • The Queens Botanical Garden will hold a Lunar New Year Celebration on Saturday, February 8, with lion dances, tai chi and kung fu demonstrations, arts and crafts, and more. This event begins at 12:00 pm and is free to attend with a suggested $5 donation.

  • The Brooklyn Public Library will welcome accomplished musician and pianist Vivian Fang Liu for a special Lunar New Year performance on Saturday, February 8 at the Central Library in Grand Army Plaza. Each participant will also receive a red paper lantern after the show. The concert starts at 1:00 pm and is free to attend.  

  • The New York Philharmonic will honor the Year of the Snake on Tuesday, February 11 with a special concert featuring Chinese-born conductor Tianyi Lu and Korean violinist Inmo Yang and a program that mixes East and West. The show begins at 7:00 pm; tickets start at $56.

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Chinatown Community Young Lions performing in Grand Central Madison in honor of Lunar New Year in 2024 (Marc A. Hermann / MTA)
  • Lunar New Year comes to a close with New York’s iconic parade and festival in Manhattan’s Chinatown on Sunday, February 16. Expect lion dancers, live music, delicious food, and handmade arts and crafts for purchase. The parade will take place throughout the neighborhood starting at 1:00 pm, with festival booths located on Bayard Street between Mott and Mulberry Streets.

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A Lunar New Year lion emerges from a subway station (Scott Lynch)

However you choose to celebrate Lunar New Year, visit MTA Away to stay up to date on all the latest events and celebrations, and be sure to check out the MTA website to learn about service and schedule changes and to plan your trip to Chinatown, Sunset Park, Flushing, and wherever else you go to enjoy the new year. 

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Use NYC Transit to reach these venues as well as the Chinatowns in Manhattan, Flushing and Sunset Park

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