The lion dance is an essential part of Tet. Drums, gongs and cymbals accompany the lions to excite the crowd. The loud music, along with the firecrackers and lion movements, are used to scare away “evil spirits” so that good luck will follow.

After visiting Chinatown yesterday, we came back to San Francisco, this time in Little Saigon, where the Vietnamese Tet Festival was organized. The celebration started with the ribbon cutting ceremony, presented by Miss Little Saigon contestants and Vietnamese elders.

The San Francisco Chinatown’s Flower Market Fair marks the beginning of the 2006 Chinese New Year celebration. Blooming plants symbolize rebirth and new growth according to Asian traditions. We bought cherry blossoms to decorate our home, let’s see what they will bring us! Although New Year’s Day is not until next Sunday, thousands of people have poured into Chinatown to enjoy the early festivity.