Chicago Celebrates Lunar New Year in Chinatown
Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood hosted its annual Lunar New Year parade and celebration, drawing large crowds for traditional festivities and cultural performances. The event was organized by the Chicago Chinatown Community Foundation.
This year's parade ushers in the Year of the Horse, 4724 in the lunisolar calendar, even though the actual first day of the Lunar New Year fell on February 17, 2026. The procession kicks off at 1:00 p.m. at 24th Street and Wentworth Avenue, proceeding north to a viewing stand at Cermak and Wentworth. The parade is rich with symbolism designed to bring good fortune. The traditional lion and dragon dances are performed to scare away evil spirits, while the widespread use of the color red represents joy and prosperity. Chicago's original Chinatown was established near Clark Street in the 1870s by migrants fleeing anti-Chinese violence on the West Coast. The community later relocated south to its current location around Cermak and Wentworth in 1912 due to rising rents and discrimination. Chicago's Chinatown is the only one in North America experiencing population growth. The neighborhood's vitality is further reflected in its political representation, having recently been drawn into the city's first Asian American majority ward. The celebration in Chinatown is not the city's only major Lunar New Year event. The Argyle Street parade in the Uptown neighborhood also hosts its own annual celebration, marking a tradition that began in 1981 to support the "New Chinatown" on the city's North Side.
