Jake Lee: Chinese New Year Celebration

Lion dance and fireworks for charity in San Francisco’s Chinatown before the Earthquake of 1906. Families and benevolent associations hired lion dance troupes to perform during Chinese New Year celebrations. The traditional public display was accompanied by beating drums, clashing cymbals, resounding gongs and finished with strands of firecrackers to ward off malevolent spirits. Chinese consider lions a divine animal, a harbinger of happiness and all that is auspicious.